


Magical Feelings

by SilverMoonT



Category: Haikyuu!!, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Bokuaka - Freeform, Durmstrang, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Gryffindor, Haikyuu - Freeform, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, KuroKen - Freeform, KyouHaba - Freeform, M/M, Magic, Quidditch, Ravenclaw, SemiShira - Freeform, Slytherin, a little bit of smut, daisuga - Freeform, ennotana - Freeform, iwaoi - Freeform, tsukkiyama - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2019-10-30 02:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 72
Words: 301,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17819681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonT/pseuds/SilverMoonT
Summary: Hogwarts.Competition between the four houses.Quidditch tournament.Friendships and rivalries.Jealousy in the corridors.Glances in the classrooms.Laughs in the common rooms.Anger on the stairs.Tears in the gardens.Feelings in the castle.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Like I said in my other story, English isn't my native language so sorry if there's any mistake, and if you find any I'll gladly change it. 
> 
> Just to let you know, Ennoshita is way OOC and I ain't even sorryyyyy, I don't ship Asahi with Nishinoya so there's only a little bit about them, and smut chapters are few so sorry if you came for them. 
> 
> The explanations of why the characters were sorted in each house are explained throughout the story. The characters appear throughout the story. And there are relationships that are one-sided that I didn't mention in the tags so as not to spoil.
> 
> With nothing else to say, I hope you like the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

“I want to go to Hogwarts too!” Natsu exclaimed.

Forming a tender pout with her small lips, she chose to cross her arms and remain still in the middle of the street, showing that she was really infatuated with the words recently expressed, while her older brother laughed when he saw the pout on her face and crouched down.

“And you will. But there's still a bit left for that," Hinata inquired, ruffling the hair of the small girl in front of him, whose orange tone was also characteristic of him, making both stand out no matter what crowd they were in, and evidencing that it was easy to guess that they were siblings, or at least that they were from the same family. “Why don’t you help me choose what to buy meanwhile?” he asked, hoping that his question would be enough to make her forget the fact that there were still two years left before she could attend classes at Hogwarts like him.

After taking into consideration the words she heard, the nine-year-old girl nodded and took her brother's hand to stop interrupting the path of all the students and their respective families who were passing from one place to another in Diagon Alley without following a specific path. The return to classes was around the corner and everyone had to buy the necessary artifacts so that the course and the stay in the castle were satisfactory. And while many carried piles of objects at the same time they were looking for their next acquisition, others preferred to let their parents be those in charge of the lists of materials. Natsu watched in astonishment around her, because even if that wasn’t the first time she accompanied her brother, each time she had less patience to finally be able to buy her respective items as well, although with her nine years, she already knew that she would probably inherit the majority of the items from his older brother, with whose left side of his body she collided because he suddenly remained completely still. The little girl with orange hair raised her brown eyes identical to his, only to see her brother totally fascinated with the store in front of them.

Which, she wasn't surprised to see that was Quality Quidditch Supplies.

His brother's favorite activity.

His first hobby.

His main fun.

His most important fascination.

The reason why their mother always scolded him.

The little girl only chose to snort, knowing that if her tender gaze didn't work on that occasion, her brother would make her stay in front of that store for the rest of the afternoon, or even worse, accompany him inside of it, which space was full of students at that time, since his brother wasn’t the only one obsessed with that sport of the magical world.

Natsu tugged the hand of his older brother, who for the first time in five minutes, turned his gaze from the window that showed the latest models of brooms, to rest on the small one next to him.

“Will you play this year?” she asked.

Although Natsu could choose to use his puppy face to ask him to leave, because every year half an hour was at least the time Hinata remained in that store, the reality was that he hadn't yet bought her the candy he promised, so she preferred to talk to distract him, although that didn't seem to work because little stars appeared around his brother's head.

“Of course I will!” his brother exclaimed in response, amazed.

Totally excited, he nodded quickly.

"I'll be the fastest chaser of all!" Hinata added releasing the hand of his younger sister to begin to wave his arms quickly and move as if he was really riding on his broomstick over the field, causing some people around him to turn to find the source of the excited shouts.  
Natsu looked at her brother surprised, since from what she could remember, every time she had asked that question, Hinata had shaken his head and responded that they didn't accept players on the team unless they were from the last years, so it struck her that his brother nodded, until she realized that although his brother didn't look like it, he was in his last years of school.

The older of both continued moving, completely enthusiastic with the idea that that year he would finally do the try outs to try to be part of the team of his house that he wanted so much to belong, and for which he had been training during all summer, until his excitement was suddenly interrupted when he collided with the figure who had just left the store along with an obvious new broom tied to his back to let his hands carry bags with other objects. The orange-haired one fell to the floor and rubbed his ass to keep that part of his body from continuing to hurt him, but it was Natsu that interrupted the sudden change of atmosphere when she didn't hesitate to kick the leg of the one who collided with his brother accidentally, causing the new figure to drop the bags and scrub that area of his body while complaining.

“Natsu!”

After getting up, Hinata took her hand so that her younger sister wouldn't continue to evidence that kicking people was easier when part of her legs were freed for wearing a dress, but that didn't stop the girl from sticking out her tongue to the one who she kicked before, although she didn’t hesitate to hide behind his older brother when the unknown one fixed his piercing blue eyes on her after he stopped complaining. And both his height and his serious look were enough for Natsu to remain silent behind his brother.

“Ghaaaw! Did you just buy a broom? So cool! I bet it's a Nimbus 2020," the older of the two siblings suddenly asked, ending the small passive aggressive confrontation between the little girl behind her and the boy in front of him, who did nothing but pick the bags he had left fall after receiving a kick without warning.

"It's none of your business." he said.

Before the orange-haired one could complain about the reluctant phrase of the one in front of him, a voice interrupted him.

"Kageyama!"

The boy in front of him removed his eyes from him when he heard his name, but his attention returned to focus on him when Hinata let out a gasp of surprise after realizing that he recognized the one his sister kicked, not only because they belonged to the same house and were in the same year, but because he remembered that he was Kageyama Tobio, a player who although known for his natural talent, wasn't accepted on the quidditch team because of his terrible attitude and excessive way of saying things.

"I know who you are!" Hinata shouted, pointing at him. "You are the one the team didn't allow to play!"

At the mention of those words, Kageyama secured the grip of his hands to the bags and frowned, although he was grateful that the orange-haired boy didn't call him by the nickname that those who had previously composed the team had put him, but the mere fact of imagining him saying it was enough to make him angrier.

"I will play this year." Kageyama announced, extremely confident.

“I'll try it too!” Hinata said with a smile, which disappeared as soon as he heard a sarcastic laugh.

“You?” the black-haired boy asked him in a bad way. He looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow. It wasn't possible that someone who had fallen to the ground by only colliding with him was able to withstand the force with which other quidditch players counted, not to mention that his height didn't favor him, given that no matter what position he wanted to play, to have long arms represented an advantage, one he clearly hadn’t. "Impossible," he articulated out loud.

That moment it was Hinata's turn to frown.

"I'll show you," he assured him.

"Try it," was all Kageyama said.

Continuing to carry the broom on his back and the bags in his hands, the black-haired boy looked at him contemptuously one last time before passing close to him to leave him alone, and Hinata stopped feeling tense once his sister took his hand, making him rest his eyes on her instead of the back of the one who had just underestimated him.

"You want me to give him another kick?" Natsu asked.

And she smiled when she heard her brother laugh, and then saw him shake his head.

"Don't worry, Natsu," he said along with a smile "I will face him in the right place."

The quidditch pitch.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some are happy to see others while others would have preferred to continue avoiding other people.

Daichi hit the heads of the three people who were known for being extremely loud and capable of getting the attention of anyone around them no matter where they were thanks to their exaggerated reactions, loud voices, and inability to remain silent for more than five minutes in a row. And Yaku giggled unavoidably before continuing to walk along with Daichi, not only because Nishinoya, Yamamoto, and Tanaka rubbed their heads after receiving a hit from the seventh year, but also because those seemed to forget the scolding after returning to being themselves, since the three didn't doubt to hug each other enthusiastically and exclaim how much they loved each other, not caring about being in the middle of the platform, interrupting the passage of all the others present, and also causing some first year students to wonder if they made the right choice on deciding to attend Hogwarts.

"You can't imagine how much I missed you!" Yamamoto exclaimed allowing true tears of emotion to run down his cheeks.

"An eternity has passed for our friendship!" Tanaka added, wiping away a tear after scrubbing his shirt against his face.

"Time doesn't matter, we will always be best friends!" Nishinoya found himself in the middle of the hug, which explained why his voice sounded covered, although that didn't prevent him from being heard anyway.

"Didn't all of us saw each other about two days ago?" Kinoshita asked, watching them from not so far away, but not too close to be able to stay away in case they tried to added him to the hug, wondering why the three friends greeted each other as if they hadn't seen each other during the holidays when in reality only two days passed since the last time they had gathered.

"You know how they are," Narita said by his side, not surprised at all.

The three friends only stopped tearing and commenting on how much they missed each other during the two days they passed one away from the other, when they heard a delicate melody that for them was what Kiyoko's voice represented, and although the sixth year trio continued to embrace each other, their attention was reposed on the girl whose face and personality they had fallen in love with since the first day they had seen her. They considered her to be perfect from head to toe, and although at that moment Kiyoko did nothing but walk past them, chatting with those who seemed to be girls of her own house and ignoring the presence of anyone else around her as well as the fixed gazes of those who also held volatile hearts around them, the three friends smiled awkwardly.

"As perfect as ever," Yamamoto said, resting his chin on Nishinoya's head because he felt he forgot how to stand.

"I think I'm in love again," the shortest of the three said with hearts in his eyes.

"We have been blessed," Tanaka added.

Suddenly the three heard giggles, and turned their eyes towards Kinoshita and Narita only to realize the two of them were laughing at the expression of indignation on Ennoshita’s face, who appeared and also raised an eyebrow before resting his gaze on the trio's embrace, which was finally broken because Nishinoya approached him.

“Chikara! How have your holidays been?”

“You mean these last two days because we had already seen each other?”

Nishinoya raised both thumbs showing approval anyway, and although Tanaka was the second to approach him to greet him, he only received a blank look from Ennoshita before he left after having spotted Sakusa walking while glancing around him with panic.

Tanaka didn't hesitate to try to follow him anyway, but a voice interrupted him.

"All students on board!" it was heard all over the platform.

And after those words, it turned impossible to try to approach him.

Nishinoya took him by the arm so that they would go towards the train like the others while some began to say goodbye to their relatives. Again they met with Daichi when they got on the train, making him grateful to see them because last time they almost left without them, and following the tide of students who wanted to look for a comfortable seat during the trip, they went to one of the many compartments while Yaku laughed because of the look of relief on Daichi’s face, even though he also remained alert like him because they knew that it was possible for the trio to be forgotten even if they were already on the train; while in another compartment not so far from theirs, Ennoshita took place next to Sakusa, who removed his mask from his mouth once they finally separated from the rest of the crowd composed of students and relatives, already beginning to feel better after not being surrounded by people anymore, which turned out to be his worst nightmare.

But the tranquility achieved by the both of them was interrupted when they heard a scream coming from the hallway.

"AKAAAAASHIIIII!!”

And although they recognized the two-colored-haired student after he screamed in front of their door, they didn't doubt anyone else in the compartments did the same, since it was easy to distinguish his energetic tone. And said student didn't hesitate to stretch his arm in front of the one whose name he mentioned, rather shouted, to prevent him from entering the compartment to manage to cross a few words with him, who although expected to begin the return to classes in a calm manner, realized that that would only be a dream after resting his blue eyes on the one who observed him with a big smile of enthusiasm, which showed that he was grateful to have found him.

"Bokuto-san," Akaashi said greeting.

The older of the two extended his other hand to him.

"What is that?" the black-haired boy asked as he spotted what appeared to be something small badly wrapped in bluish paper on the palm of his hand.

"A gift for you. A reminder of my vacation," Bokuto said extremely anxious, since he hadn't been able to stop asking himself how he would react since he decided to give him a gift.

“Thank you.”

Akaashi took the gift and his eyes remained on what turned out to be a small whitish owl teddy with gray details, which suspiciously looked like the boy in front of him, who was watching him with his large and intriguing amber eyes.

"You like it? It remembered me of you because it's an owl like the one of your house," Bokuto said completely excited, although he frowned when he heard a hyena-like laugh coming from behind him, but Kuroo covered his mouth before deciding to dedicate an innocent smile to him that said to ignore his laughter.

“Bokuto-san, I like the gift, but the Ravenclaw animal is not an owl, but an eagle.”

At the mention of those words, the aforementioned let his knees touch the floor in an exaggerated manner before he took his head with both hands and tugged at his two-colored locks after realizing the huge mistake he made.

“I'm such a mess!” he exclaimed in a dramatic tone “Akaashi, you didn’t even smile!”

Despite frowning slightly at the mention of the last words, Akaashi assured him that even if the animal wasn't the one of his house, he still liked the gift that he bought for him, and although Kuroo couldn't stop laughing after seeing his best friend make a fool of himself because after seven years he didn’t seemed to have learned the animals that represented the different houses of Hogwarts, he stopped feeling his stomach clench because he couldn't breathe while laughing, when he felt that he himself cringed when he saw who had been behind Akaashi all that time.

Kenma, who kept looking at the ground despite he having his eyes on him.

"Kuroo, why didn't you tell me that the Ravenclaw animal is an eagle!?"

Bokuto was suddenly the one who appeared in his field of vision after getting up looking very offended, only to realize that even though he was in front of him, his best friend was not paying attention to him, and that his expression also seemed to have seen a ghost.

Although for Kuroo, what he saw, or rather who he saw, represented something worse.

Kenma was the one who ignored him during the three months of vacations and who didn't asked him how his trip went once he returned even though he didn't wished him luck before he left either. He was the one who instead of going to his house all the time as they were used to do during the last summers or since they had memory, and who instead of letting Kuroo appear in his house to force him to play quidditch with him, did only the opposite.

He didn't spoke to him or sought a conversation with him, nor presented himself at the meals that both families prepared together since their parents had been friends for a long time as well as neighbors, or bothered to ask him how he was doing or whether he wanted to do something, taking advantage of not having to study. Kenma ignored his entire existence during the summer, making Kuroo feel that it was his fault that his vacation had been completely different than he was used to.

But at that moment, Kenma made it clear that even if he wasn't making eye contact, he was still aware that the older one was watching him because he moved uncomfortably in his place. He felt totally uncomfortable and wished he could escape through one of the windows of the train even though it was already in motion, because although he knew that sooner or later it would happen, he didn’t expect to cross paths with Kuroo so soon. He felt himself locked and without escape, and although the affliction was evident in his face, he tugged gently the bottom of Akaashi's shirt, even though the black-haired one already understood that he didn’t want to be there.

Even being inside the compartment, Ennoshita was able to sense the tension.

“Thank you for the gift, Bokuto-san. I won’t lose it" was the only thing that Akaashi pronounced before resting his hands delicately on Kenma's shoulders to direct him towards the compartment to which he later entered to then close the door behind them, leaving the mentioned in the hall with a wide smile and what appeared to be stars in his pupils that already shone.

“Did you heard him, Kuroo? Akaashi said he won’t lose my gift," he said proudly.

But he didn’t get any response from the boy at his side.

“Kuroo?” he added, looking at him.

The one whose face was partially hidden behind black strands, remained looking at the floor with no expression on his face even though he previously didn’t mind laughing.

"Rejected," he said “Again.”

Bokuto put his hand on his shoulder, but they were suddenly surprised when a boy who didn’t hesitate to pounce on them and wrap his arms around their shoulders, exposed the piercing on his tongue by sticking it out and dedicating a big smile to both friends, who exchanged glances with each other and seemed to forget what happened after starting to rummage the hair of the newly added.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


	3. Chapter 3

After director Takeda enunciated one of his poetic and sometimes exaggerated, speeches on the return to classes that was followed by the draw of the new freshmen that now knew which of the four houses they belonged to, and later by a great and delicious welcome banquet, the students retired to their respective common rooms guided by the prefects to spend the first night at Hogwarts that year. Fortunately they were at the beginning of the weekend, so they wouldn’t have to carry books and attend classes until Monday morning, and although several took advantage of it by remained chatting with those they didn’t see during the holidays, to wonder where they traveled or what they did if they stayed at home; in the Ravenclaw’s Tower, in one of the many rooms occupied by young people belonging to that house, a black-haired boy accommodated his pillow for the umpteenth time after continuing trying and failing to find a comfortable position that would allow him to sleep, but he only managed to remain lay down when while turning to the other side, he glimpsed the owl teddy that he had left on the bedside table next to his bed.

The only window in the room was to the left of his bed just like the previous year, so he was used to sleeping facing the other side so that in the morning the sun wouldn’t be his natural alarm, but after not being able to sleep, he found no other choice but to look to that side, and in doing so, his eyes met the present that the two-colored-haired one specified to bring from his vacation, evidencing that he thought of him at least during that moment in the recess.

Akaashi put his hand between his eyes and the teddy to try to prevent his thoughts continue tormenting him, while in the bed in front of him, Kenma continued using the electronic device that illuminated his face and prevented the room to be completely dark, without realizing that in that way he managed to make it even more difficult for Akaashi to reconcile sleep, he being the first to ask him about that curious device with which he appeared on the platform, and therefore the first one to which he gave a short explanation about it even though the black-haired one could only understand that the rectangular black device was an item that his father had given him from a Muggle store on electronics, and that he only had to press a few buttons to distract himself with various games. Kenma seemed to have found in it a world in which to take refuge, and while Akaashi said he didn't understand how his eyes didn't hurt after being with that device lighting up his sight since they took place in the train compartment, not even releasing it while the first years were sorted in the different houses, Ennoshita didn't seem to be interested in the object nor give importance to it, since he seemed to consider himself the most fortunate after seeming to be sleeping.

Finally, Akaashi gave up and sat up in his bed.

He didn't know what time it was and didn't want to know either. He only knew that a long time had passed since they left the Great Hall, and that although the next day they didn't have to get up at any specific time or perform certain activities, he would start to get stressed anyway because he didn't want to know how many valuable minutes, if those had not turned into hours, he wasted so far after not being able to sleep.

“You can't sleep?” he listened.

He was surprised to hear the voice of the dyed blonde who continued to concentrate on the device in his hands, since he never really talk much, and hadn't almost released a word since he turned that article into an extension of him.

“No.”

After a few seconds, the room of the three sixth-year boys was only illuminated by the light of the moon that pierced throught the crystals of the only window, since Kenma finally turned off the electronic device that seemed to have monopolized all his attention and interest for the whole day. However, he was used to observe a fixed point, so it wasn't a big difference that now he had an object in which to fix his golden irises.

"Me neither," he said.

In order to not awake Ennoshita with his talk, Akaashi opted to uncover and leave his bed to sit on the edge of his roommate's.

"Why can't you sleep?" he asked the one that despite having stopped using his console, kept the device lying on his chest.

“You should have deciphered it for this moment already.”

Akaashi had asked for simple courtesy, but as his roommate just mentioned, he was aware that both he and Kenma already knew that the second of them couldn't fall asleep for the same reason he seemed out of his mind, and even more silent than usual since the day had begun, not to mention that he also seemed very interested in not taking his eyes off the electronic device.

“It's him. Isn’t he?” It was enough that Kenma seemed to shrink even more so that Akaashi could confirm that the answer to his question was an affirmation "You knew you would meet with him sooner or later. Being able to avoid him while we have classes is not as easy as getting away from him during the holidays," he continued.

"Without counting the quidditch matches,"

Both friends suddenly turned their eyes to the one who suddenly joined the conversation, and who in less than a few seconds was sitting on the other side of Kenma's bed, showing that although he also tried to fall asleep, and perhaps managed to do it for a few minutes, he was also not passing his best sleep routine.

"And the Great Hall. And any part of the castle," Ennoshita went on.

"Minus our common room," Akaashi added, trying to be positive.

Ennoshita smiled sideways after hearing him.

"I'll never leave the room if necessary," Kenma said, his gaze fixed on the ceiling of the room.

Those sitting around him exchanged glances with each other. Ennoshita let out an exaggerated sigh before collapsing next to Kenma, and Akaashi took advantage of the one with dyed hair to find his legs extended to use them as a pillow and to lie down too.

"First night and none of the three manages to sleep. Could it be that the room is haunted? Or is it that our minds have already started to conspire again because being Ravenclaws means that our brains are functioning all the time? Even when we want to put out our thoughts for a few hours and try to unwind?" Ennoshita asked, looking at the ceiling, as did the other two along with him.

"Why can't you sleep?" Akaashi asked.

"I don't know," he lied "I just can't. I don't know, I feel annoyed," he added to try to be a little more honest with his roommates.

"Annoyed?" Kenma articulated without understanding his words.

And a little grateful that the conversation was no longer focused on him, because although he liked to chat with his friends spontaneously and inside he was glad he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep, he didn't want to continue thinking about the meeting on the train.

"Yeah, just ... annoyed. Why can't you sleep Akaashi?"

No one seemed to want to think much that night.

"If I ask you a question, would you answer me?" 

"Yes, Akaashi, I'm prettier than you. It was time you accepted it," Ennoshita said raising his head to raise both eyebrows repeatedly and give a smile full of pride to the one who didn't hesitate to throw thim the pillow Kenma gave him to be more comfortable.

"Do you think I'm expressionless?" he asked.

Ennoshita stopped laughing, while for the first time since the black-haired one had sat on his bed, Kenma stopped keeping his gaze on the ceiling, to observe him. Since he knew exactly why he asked that question.

He wasn't the only one affected by the encounter on the train.

Bokuto was a person characterized by not caring how many people were around him. His tone of voice was loud enough so that anyone near or far away from him could hear him without any problem, and Kenma had been close to him to know that the Hufflepuff's captain, made a comment about the personality of his roommate that apparently it hadn't been overlooked although it hadn't been more than a couple of words expressed with innocence.

"I'm not who to say if someone is expressionless," Kenma said "And you shouldn't give it importance," he added mumbling, though Akaashi was able to hear him.

"You don't always have to be demonstrating what you feel or saying what you think. Sometimes, it's even better not to let your face go before you," Ennoshita linked his hands behind his head “And given the case you were expressionless, I would envy you."

"Why you say that?" the dyed blonde asked lying next to him, since Akaashi seemed to have lost his voice.

Although in reality, he had once again entered into his thoughts.

Should he worry about being expressionless? He was aware that he smiled little and that the features of his face had never been the friendliest or the most sympathetic, nor those that invited someone strange to have a casual conversation or give him a smile in return. But he didn’t consider that the fact of not showing his feelings or thoughts with expressions on his face didn’t mean that he had a brain and a heart just like everyone else.

Ennoshita's voice brought him back to reality.

“Nobody knows what goes through your mind.”

Was that a good thing?

Kenma opted to leave his electronic device aside, and like his two roommates, he remained silent, allowing the three of them to be distracted by their own thoughts that that night seemed to have agreed not to let them fall asleep in an easy way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was about to post the chapter and oh so suddenly the wifi decided not to be by my side, but well, here it is. Sorry if there's any mistake but I don't want to read this chapter anymore I'm sure I'll have nightmares thanks to the wifi. Enjoy!

Even though Yamaguchi was both anxious and nervous about the new year of classes that would increase his knowledge and skills in various areas, and even if a smile appeared on his face after glimpsing the Hufflepuff shield on his gray hoodie, he wasn't surprised when a yawn left his lips while heading towards the Great Hall, since he preferred for the holidays to continue since he just wanted to be able to sleep more hours instead of getting up early.

Besides, his day started thanks to his roommate waking him up to tell him that they should start the day with emotion as he had indicated every year when they started another year again, but Lev had fallen back asleep on his pillow seconds after uttering those words, while Yamaguchi laughed and got ready, deciding to let the other one sleep because there was still time for breakfast.

Contrary to what he had thought, he hardly spent the weekend with his best friend Tsukishima, with whom he shared several days of his holidays, not only because Lev and Koganegawa kept him busy while they told him about their holidays, but because he also helped the first years who had been sorted in his house to feel more comfortable, so when he entered the Great Hall and sighted the blond having breakfast without any company at the Ravenclaw's table, he moved his feet to approach him, until a hubbub that began to grow in a matter of seconds, caught him immediately after coming from the table next to that of his best friend, since Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were those houses whose tables were stuck in the center of the Great Hall. And he looked at it to see that it seemed to be a celebration, since some people hugged one person in particular and applauded with joy despite being early.

And despite continuing a little asleep, Yamaguchi opened his eyes completely when he realized that the person who continued to be embraced was Yachi, and after spotting half a cake in front of her, he understood that the reason for the celebration was her birthday, so he didn't doubt to hit himself in the forehead because the same thing always happened to him every year. During the last days of vacation he remembered that the blonde's birthday was approaching, and then he realized that he had completely forgotten when the day had already arrived and was in front of him.

He didn't have a gift but decided to congratulate her anyway, not only because they had become friends since both had been drawn in the same house and because letters were sent between them during the summer, but also because he believed that celebrating a birthday was nice for anyone, so, a little nervous, he took advantage that some dispersed to approach her and touch her shoulder with concern, and then smile sideways once she rested her eyes on him.

"Happy Birthday!" Yamaguchi exclaimed with a slight blush.

Yachi smiled broadly when she heard him.

"Yamaguchi-kun, thank you very much!" She exclaimed more than cheerful.

She quickly cut a piece of chocolate cake for him, but Yamaguchi was left confused when his two hands were occupied with plastic plates with cake on them.

"For Tsukishima-kun," Yachi added with a smile.

And he turned his gaze to where she did, only to realize that his best friend was watching them, although he pretended to find himself focused on the table when they both observed him.

"Thanks Yachi," Yamaguchi thanked her with a sincere smile, and only had to draw a few steps to sit in front of his best friend, who looked seriously at the plate that he slid in front of him "Yachi sends it, it's her birthday."

Tsukishima again looked at the portion of cake, and rested his elbow on the table as well as his cheek in the palm of his hand to become distracted and look away.

"I'm not hungry," was all he said.

Yamaguchi realized that perhaps his best friend's bad mood was due to the return to school and the end of the holidays, but he started a conversation with him anyway, since they hardly saw each other over the weekend and he wanted to know how he had had been in Ravenclaw, though he only received a few words in return.

 

* * *

 

Hinata let out a complaint.

He hadn't stopped wailing throughout the weekend since he discovered that the quidditch practices began the second week of classes and that therefore he wasn't allowed to enter the field,  much less even without being part of the team in an official way, his desire to ride on his broom only managing to grew quickly.

Inuoka, who was his roommate since first year, that being the reason why they became close as well as belonging to the same house, and who therefore was also the one in hearing all the complaints from the orange-haired one, chuckled again when he heard him wailing as they walked down the hall.

"Shouyou, we'll be able to play soon," he assured him when he saw him getting impatient.

Even though he couldn't blame Hinata, because although he himself turned to be a dedicated fan of the same sport, Hinata was the most desperate to play Quidditch even if they spent a few days playing it during the holidays. He also wanted to join his house team, so he couldn’t really blame the orange-haired one for wanting to play.

"I was so excited!" Hinata exclaimed, his shoulders drooping.

Inuoka patted him on the shoulder before they finally found the classroom in which they would have Charms, but he basically tripped over the one who had previously been complaining.

"Shouyou, don't stop so suddenly," he said "Shouyou?" He added when he realized that the orange-haired boy standing in front of him not only remained still, but also extremely quiet when he hadn't stopped talking all morning and the weekend.

"You!" Hinata exclaimed.

He didn't refer to Inuoka, but to another one who also knew his younger sister, although for a completely different reason.

Like several present in the class, Kageyama raised his head, and his frown as well as his serious blue eyes assured Hinata that he also remembered him and the few but certain words they said to each other in the Diagon Alley after Natsu hit him in the leg.

"You," Kageyama said.

Hinata collided with Inuoka when he pulled back, feeling that with his blue eyes, the black-haired one could destroy him without even standing up. He was able to intimidate whoever was without even putting a lot of effort into the action.

"You'll see that I will join the team!" Hinata exclaimed anyway.

The one with black hair arched an eyebrow when he listened to him while Inuoka remained confused.

"I will achieve it more easily, and before you," Kageyama assured him.

"You could never win against me!"

"Of course I could!"

Inuoka failed to contain Hinata even though he didn't understand what they were talking about, because although he could also remember Kageyama after having shared some classes with him, he didn't remember that he and the orange-haired one had spoken before, but no matter what he tried to calm him down, Hinata didn't hesitate to approach Kageyama, getting the attention of the others present in the class to be put on them, since it was ridiculous for them that two people from the same house challenged each other.

"To try to defeat me, you must first make sure you join the team," Kageyama stated, eyeing him with a frown.

Hinata knew the exact meaning of those words.

The anger was evident in his face, and he didn't notice that the teacher of the subject that they would have, arrived. Hinata could accept being judged by his way of playing, but he would never accept being talked about in a derogatory way when the one in front of him never saw him riding on his broom.

"Of course I'll join the team!" Hinata shouted.

The only adult in the classroom fixed his attention on him after his tone of voice was highlighted.

"Shouyou, you will make us be scolded," Inuoka murmured approaching him.

"I'll join the team! And I will achieve it much more easily than you!"

The words of both of them were a ping pong of phrases that made the other lose even more patience after perceiving the determination that surrounded them and the confrontation that they were willing to continue despite being from the same house. And Hinata was more than willing to open his mouth to answer again no matter that Inuoka had rested a hand on his shoulder, but the voice of the only adult in the classroom interrupted him.

"Gryffindor, twenty points less for the fuss," he determined.

Both declared enemies forgot that their way of developing inside the class would affect the rest of the people who were in their house after the race for the Cup of the Houses had already started, and Inuoka and the others who carried the red color in their uniforms as well as gold, let out a sigh.

However, Hinata and Kageyama didn't break eye contact, the competition between the two hardly considered begun.

 

* * *

 

 

Hinata didn't take his eyes off the plate loaded with food in front of him. He had the chance to choose any food that made water in his mouth and he even chose to serve several servings of his favorite foods, but strangely, that night he seemed to have lost his appetite no matter how used to being one of the people who ate the most he was. He could feel that several of those present at his table were watching him because the clocks of the houses that kept track of the points were already arranged again so that all the students could observe them, and it wasn’t usual for a teacher to remove points the first day of class, being that the reason why Gryffindor was already at a disadvantage compared to the other three houses. Inuoka was also looking at him, although unlike the others, because he was worried, since he didn’t think that such an enthusiastic personality and vivid energy like he had, could get transformed in an angry attitude as easily as he had, so he decided to start a conversation with him, since in addition, since the episode developed in class, he didn’t open his mouth many times more.

“Why do you know him?” Inuoka asked, still confused.

“Natsu kicked him for colliding with me in Diagon Alley,” Hinata said, and Inuoka made a huge effort to not laugh after hearing those words “He said it's impossible for me to get into the team," he added, and immediately Inuoka understood why he seemed to be affected, since even he had been present when on multiple occasions members of the official teams made fun of him because of his height and the complexion of his body when they noticed him with his broom in hand.

The brown-haired one momentarily diverted his attention from Hinata to rest his eyes on the other one involved in the matter, who at that moment was sitting in one of the corners on the other side of the table, dining without talking to anyone. His serious face and severe look showed that he wasn't a person who liked to be surrounded by many people, reason that also explained, why despite having shared several classes with him, and being from the same year and same house, they only knew him for being the one who had been rejected the previous year by the official Gryffindor team.

“Hello, sorry to bother you,”

Inuoka regained his concentration when he heard a voice close to him, and opened his eyes like two large plates when he sighted the one who had approached Hinata and also addressed him, while his roommate did nothing more than observe the black-haired boy who invoked a great presence with just his appearance, and who like them, wore the uniform with the same colors because he also belonged to Gryffindor.

“Don't worry about the points, they are easy to recover, and even more us being Gryffindors. Soon everyone will forget and I'm sure others will be responsible for losing more points for our house," he said rolling his eyes, seeming to be thinking of certain people he knew “But others will also recover them.”

Hinata was surprised to hear him, since knowing he was the prefect for that year, he expected a scolding for what he had done as three adults from the faculty already did. Meanwhile, Inuoka interspersed his gaze between them, not understanding how it was possible that his roommate wasn’t jumping with emotion throughout the Great Hall.

"Thank you," was the only thing the orange-haired boy managed to say.

The seventh year one only smiled sideways before returning to sit in his place.

“Shouyou!” Inuoka exclaimed as soon as he left. Hinata looked at him confused as he did not understand why he shouted his name if they were sitting side by side “Don’t you know who he is?” his best friend asked.

Inuoka still didn’t understand how it was possible that Hinata didn’t recognized the boy who approached to speak to him, because although he was aware that the orange-haired boy had a hard time focusing his attention on anything, Quidditch was something in which he was always thinking of, so he wondered how it was that he didn’t known who was the one that came to them seconds ago.

“The prefect?” Hinata asked hesitantly.

Even if that was true, Inuoka took him by the shoulders anyway.

"Sawamura Daichi, the new captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team!" he said.

And with those simple words, the orange-haired boy hugged his belly and felt like going to the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

While Hinata spent the night wondering how he didn’t manage to recognize the captain of the Quidditch team of his house, which he wished to be able to enter after presenting himself in the try outs and then play in the matches against the other houses in order to be able to take the Quidditch Cup with his own hands once they came out as champions, said captain didn’t think he would fulfill his role as leader both inside the field and outside of it so soon.

Yamamoto and Tanaka were walking down the aisle without worrying about knowing they were arriving late to classes, since they considered that exchanging words about how beautiful Kiyoko was, continued to sound more important to them than having perfect attendance, till they were suddenly forced to stop and again focus their heads on the present instead of allowing their thoughts to continue among the clouds, since two people who were characterized for not being nice, although for being equally friends like the two of them, turned out to be walking on the opposite side of the corridor, so the four of them remained quiet when they met, realizing that if they continued advancing, eventually they would cross. And both Tanaka and Yamamoto didn’t hesitate to start doing the typical weird faces that characterized them when they wanted to scare or even intimidate people they didn’t like, and which probably would have served to do so to a lost freshman, but not to those in front of them, because after all, it wasn’t the first time that they faced each other both inside and outside of the field of quidditch.

Futakuchi Kenji and Yahaba Shigeru.

Students of the same year as them, belonging to the house of Slytherin and the quidditch team of the same, which made them their eternal and sworn rivals.

"Lizards," Yamamoto articulated to annoy them.

"Puppies," Yahaba countered.

Yamamoto narrowed his eyes and Futakuchi arched an eyebrow before smirking amused.

Both students who wore a green shield with a silver serpent drawn on their uniforms, were similar to each other not only because they had the same colors on their clothing, or because both had brown eyes and light brown hair, although of different tones and different fringes, but because the two were characterized by smiling with intentions that were always considered dishonest, by squandering egomania in their words, by acting through sarcasm, by their contemptuous looks, and by their arrogant and competitive personalities.

And just like Yamamoto and Tanaka, it was rare to see them separated.

The four remained silent mutilating each other with their eyes, until they heard voices near them that interrupted their visual fight.

“Why is it that the two of you always try to pick a fight?” Kuroo articulated.

The seriousness in the sixth year duo of Slytherin only increased when they heard him, and they didn’t observe in a good way the Gryffindor member who was at his side, and who although knew that the two of them would do nothing but continue to watch him without a trace of any sympathy in the features of their faces, however, approached the duo of those who belonged to his own house to rest his hands on their shoulders and force them to make a small bow.

"I'm sorry, they never know when to shut up," Daichi said in the name of the duo.

The sixth-year duo of Slytherin remained crossed arms.

"You also apologize," Kuroo said, staring at them.

Resembling five-year-old grouchy children instead of sixteen-year-olds, both Yahaba and Futakuchi continued with a frown and refused to open their mouths to make an apology, and although they planned to continue with their heads held high and therefore with their ego intact, as well as with their arms crossed, both protested when their shoulders were surrounded by arms.

"Come on," said the one who suddenly joined the conversation, though he was the only one to smile animatedly as he interposed his gaze between those two at his sides “Say sorry.”

The sixth-years duo were aware that it was convenient for them to listened to him, so they murmured their apologies, and the one who embraced them who was characterized for having gray hair but most of all by the mole under his left eye, gave a funny giggle after seing the stunned faces of the duo that belonged to his same house.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's Yahaba's and Mattsun's birthday!! (funny because they both appear in this chapter)  
> Let's pretend I did it on purpose.
> 
> I'm updating today because I realized tomorrow and next week I won't be able to post because I'll be on a trip, so that means I won't post again till next saturday.
> 
> But before you start reading I realized two things, 
> 
> One, when Terushima was introduced, he said his team got to the semifinals, so that means that they either faced Shiratorizawa or Aoba Johsai because those two were the teams that went to the finals, so first, damn they are a powerful team even if they don't seem like it, and second, Johzenji vs Shiratorizawa can you imagine that Shirabu would be so done and Tendou so amused. And third, Johzenji vs Aoba Johsai I MEAN, I M E A N 
> 
> Two, I still need an OVA of the match between Shiratorizawa and Aoba Johsai because I don't get over the fact that when they were asked about who they liked less of Shiratorizawa, Oikawa answered Ushijima, and Iwaizumi, Mattsun and Makki answered Tendou CAN U IMAGINE THAT, THE REASONS BEHIND THOSE ANSWERS I feel Shirabu would also be so done in this match too because he's done all the time.
> 
> Thanks for coming to my ted talk

Sugawara Koushi.

Seventh-year student, belonging to the Slytherin house, and a prefect as sweet as chaotic. He was always seen with a smile on his face no matter what situation he was in or who he was chatting with. He had become close to Kuroo not only because they were both from the same year and house, or because they shared a room since their first year, but also because they were both Quidditch fans, both of them belonging to the Slytherin team although with different roles, which had allowed the gray-haired one to watch the players polish their individual skills, and therefore, know them and have conversations with them, which explained why at that time Yahaba and Futakuchi didn’t get mad at him even though he made them apologize and leave their egos aside, because although he was preceded by a reputation that made it clear that although his face seemed to have been sculpted by angels, his personality could match that of a demon if he wasn’t heard or his words weren’t followed with attention.

"I'm sorry, it's easy to lose sight of them," Suga inquired once he stopped hugging the pair of sixth-year friends.

Yamamoto and Tanaka turned their eyes to the one who had also made them apologize, and who had suddenly seemed to lose his tough character after remaining stupefied.. Kuroo simply avoided laughing when he covered his mouth with his hand, since he knew that although Daichi had never crossed words with Suga before, he was totally in love with him.

Being on the same year, Daichi shared some classes with Suga, and although he had had several opportunities to get close to him, since they also had friends in common, like Kuroo, he never had the courage to start a conversation between them, because as sure of himself as he seemed, the one belonging to Gryffindor could also become shy, and besides, whenever he decided that day was the right one to talk to him, the one with gray hair was busy talking with someone else. He always watched him carry an animated smile on his face, and it was easy for him to recognize when both were in the same place.

That moment was the first time the Slytherin member spoke to him and was close enough so that Daichi could appreciate his hazel eyes, and he wasn’t prepared for Suga to be the one to finally start a conversation with him, so even though he opened his mouth several times, he couldn’t answer anything.

"Well, you know what they say, Gryffindor and Slytherin, eternal rivals," Kuroo interrupted after seeing the state of his friend as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and managed to remove him from the state of stupefaction in which he submerged himself.

Suga laughed when he heard him.

"Nobody has to be anyone's rival, Kuroo," he said.

Both Yamamoto and Tanaka laughed at the still present stupor in the face of that of their own house, and Futakuchi and Yahaba didn’t hesitate to think that they were mocking them, but Suga pushed them gently to the other side so they wouldn’t try to attack them again.

“See you later, I'll take these troublemakers to their classes” the gray-haired one said taking the pair of friends with him.

Tanaka and Yamamoto burst out laughing when Daichi hit his face with both hands when he realized that he missed another opportunity to continue the conversation with the one who had already made his presence invisible, and Kuroo laughed too.

“You also go to your classes.”

The sixth-year duo felt chills go through their bodies when the dark brown eyes of the same one in their house focused on them, and theystarted to run because they were aware that making him angry wasn't something pleasant for anyone.

"I'm a mess," Daichi added when he found himself alone with the Slytherin of his seam year.

“I consider a miracle you didn't faint,”

Kuroo raised his hands innocently and smiled amused when Daichi glared at him.

 

* * *

 

 

Yamamoto and Tanaka turned their escape from Daichi into a race to see who could arrive to the classroom first -although that didn’t mean the class already had started more than half an hour ago- but suddenly Tanaka stopped when he spotted a black hair head and a Ravenclaw uniform at one of the corridor intersections. Yamamoto also stopped when he noticed that his friend stayed behind, but he resumed his way to the classroom when Tanaka mentioned that he could take the race, and simply disappeared down the other corridor.

“Ennoshita!” Tanaka shouted so that the other wouldn't continue walking down the hall.

The one who carried three books in his arms turned around when he heard that he was called, and was surprised to recognize the voice and to see the Gryffindor who was approaching him in a hurry, and who seemed to have been running after breathing through his mouth several times in a row.

“Why were you running?” He asked him with an arched eyebrow.

Tanaka formed a disguised pout whit his lips when he wasn’t receive with a big smile or some sort of nice greeting.

“I was doing a race with Yamamoto. And of course I was winning,” he said, changing his face for a big smile of pride, at which Ennoshita only raised an eyebrow.

"You should be on time for classes," he expressed “And I have to go to one now, and I don’t plan on running because I'm late, so see you later.”

Ennoshita didn’t allow Tanaka to add anything else, since he didn’t hesitate to turn around after expressing those words and turning his back on him to continue on his way.

The Gryffindor let out a weary sigh, wondering why the one who happened to be from his same year but from a different house, didn’t took his time to greet him or even ask about his vacation, even if only two days had passed from when they saw each other on Yamamoto’s house and then in King Cross’ Station. But since the time in the platform, Ennoshita acted reluctant to him, and he didn’t understand the reason because he didn’t remember doing something that could annoy him in any way.

Tanaka thought to follow him anyway, but the voice of his best friend stopped him.

“Ryuu!” Nishinoya called him “Professor says he will lower points to Gryffindor if you don’t come, and neither of us wants Daichi to get mad," he added, taking him by the arm to drag him along with him.

Although he stopped when he saw his best friend’s face.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

Tanaka took a few seconds to answer, and preferred to shake his head and give him a smile to indicate that he was okay, although he knew he wasn’t.

 

* * *

 

“You got a weird face,” Suna said when he saw the boy who was wearing his same colors.

Ennoshita looked up when he heard the one with whom he had agreed to come together to attend their next class.

"I guess I'm not excited about class," he mentioned.

The one who also held books with his hands only chose to observe him out of the corner of his eye instead of adding another word when they started walking side by side. It turned out that they were heading towards to one of the subjects that had always been Ennoshita's favorite, so his housemate wondered what it was that had him so distracted that he didn’t took his time to invent a better lie.

 

* * *

 

Ennoshita approached Akaashi once the class ended, having made it clear to Suna that his strange expression was due to something else and not to his no emotion for the subject, since when sitting with him, he was able to saw him enjoying the class, and even got twenty points for both answering questions.

Suna gave him a look, and left the classroom anyway.

"Akaashi, I forgot to ask you about something," Ennoshita inquired as the others continued to leave the class.

"Yes, I'll lend you my book so you can study," said the other one.

"I know that," he said as they both approached the door “I wanted to know why you asked that question when none of the three could sleep at night. Remember, about if we consider you expressionless?”

Akaashi watched him.

Neither of them remembered having continued chatting after Ennoshita was the last to speak, because even though at first the three of them were lying in the same bed for not being able to sleep, ironically, they ended up falling asleep before any of the three would like to continue chatting.

"It's not common for you to worry about what others think, that's why I was surprised to hear you," Ennoshita added after feeling that he should explain why he was still thinking about that talk.

Both stopped walking before leaving the classroom.

"I don’t know," Akaashi replied, not knowing what else to say.

Ennoshita glimpsed a certain change of expression on his face, so he chose to smile sideways.

"Whatever it is that is making you think about that kind of problem, don’t give it more importance," he expressed, making his housemate watch him surprised “The people you really care about will want you in their life no matter if you are expressionless or not. I don’t need you to be smiling all the time or telling me that you want me twenty-four hours to know that you love me more than Kenma and that you would prefer me over him no matter what time I asked.”

A tiny smile appeared on Akaashi's face.

However, the curvature of his mouth disappeared as soon as they left the classroom, as they ran into a boy with two-colored hair that as it used to be, was accompanied by his best friend whose uniform showed the colors of Slytherin.

“Bokuto-san, shouldn’t you be in your class?” Akaashi asked.

“Akaashi! You know I don’t like to stay in the classroom when I get bored!” Bokuto shouted, leaving his words as an evidence of his actions since he had remained outside the class of the sixth year for more than ten minutes to wait for him to leave.

Kuroo's classes started in half an hour and he took the opportunity to see his best friend walking quietly in the corridor to ask where he was going and why he wasn’t in the indicated classroom having classes like the rest, and he took the chance upon hearing that he was on his way to Akaashi's class, which also turned out to be one that Kenma attended. However, the one belonging to Slytherin only had to be satisfied to see from afar the tinted hair of the blond of whom he had sought, since he quickly left when he saw him at the door of his classroom. Kenma made it clear that he didn’t want to meet him again or be near him.

Ennoshita and Kuroo started to talk to each other while Akaashi continued to observe in disbelief the one who left his class only because it was boring.

“I wanted to know if you liked the gift,” Bokuto said.

“The owl teddy?”

Bokuto complained loudly and shook his head repeatedly.

“I still can’t believe I got confused!” He exclaimed, angry at himself after having confused the animal of the one belonging to Ravenclaw.

Akaashi held his books against his chest.

"Even if it's not an eagle, I still like it," he said, making the two-colored-haired one stop being annoyed to replace the anger with a big animated smile.

“Really??” He asked enthusiastically.

Akaashi nodded, but remained totally tense when Bokuto suddenly hugged him after hearing that he really liked the teddy he had given him. Both Ennoshita and Kuroo directed their eyes towards them, the first because he knew how reluctant his partner could react to physical contact, and the second because he had mentioned more than ten times to his best friend that he should control himself when being near Akaashi.

“I'm glad you liked it, Akaashi!” He exclaimed.

The sixth-year one was forced to press the books even more against his chest.

It wasn’t the first time that Bokuto wrapped his arms around him, and he even started doing it less often since last year when Kuroo mentioned to his best friend that sometimes a hug wasn't pleasant for everyone, although Akaashi didn’t knew that. So he was surprised when the two-colored-haired one hugged him, since he didn’t wait for him to do it. And he continued to feel strange when Kuroo approached them with a confused smile on his face, and gently separated his best friend from him. Bokuto continued to smile broadly, while Ennoshita didn’t take his eyes off his best friend, who was still silent and still.

"Well, we're leaving," the only Slytherin present said, resting his hands on the shoulders of the only Hufflepuff to drag him along with him, but not before letting Bokuto greet at them when he waved his hand energetically.

Ennoshita was still watching him.

“Akaashi?”

Could the books against his chest dull the quick beating of his heart?

His entire body tensed as he was surrounded by the formidable arms that characterized Bokuto, but no trait of his face changed. And yet, he could feel the beating of his heart at full speed, and a wave of nerves running through his body as if it was a race. He became unaccustomed to Bokuto's embraces, but not to what they provoked in him.

 

* * *

 

 

"Next time I'll drag you around the castle if you need to understand." Iwaizumi continued tugging at Oikawa's shirt, who could barely follow in his footsteps, and continued to scold him after saying the password to enter the common room of the house they both belonged to “They told you to rest, not to try harder. What part of practices starting next week haven’t you understood? You aren't the only one who wants to play Quidditch, but apparently you're the only fool enough who doesn’t understand that rest time is important.”

Iwaizumi knew his best friend too well, so when he didn’t find him eating lunch in the Great Hall like everyone else, he didn’t have to take a full tour of the Hogwarts territory as he only had to go to the parks to check that Oikawa didn’t plan to stop training or wait until the beginning of the practices to get back in shape. And Iwaizumi also knew the reasons why he tried harder, so he didn’t hesitate to interrupt the training of his best friend, whom he discovered running, to take the front of his shirt and let him know that the next time he wouldn’t doubt to block his road no matter what took him to do it.

Oikawa finally crossed his arms when Iwaizumi released him once they stopped in the corridor of the rooms.

"I have to make an effort," he declared.

"And I know why you think you should, it but it's not like that," Iwaizumi reiterated.

Iwaizumi didn’t really believe that the new position of his best friend in the team had to do with his obsession with training, since Oikawa was like that since he could remember, and even though he knew he would never stop to try to reach his own limits in a bad way, he was determined to prevent Oikawa from forcing himself further.

Oikawa simply decided to sigh.

"I love that you care about me, Iwa-chan," he teased.

The other detected a slight instinct of sarcasm in those words, but also another one of seriousness.

Instead of saying something, Iwaizumi simply pointed to the room. Oikawa rolled his eyes, realizing that he wouldn't escape from his best friend to return to training. A few more laps around the stadium was never a bad idea.

However, exercise ceased to be his main concern, because although he opened the door of the room slowly because he was focused on watching Iwaizumi so that at least his serious gaze tried to intimidate him, he didn’t prevent the seconds from being enough for him to both he and his best friend, to remained stupefied after seeing how Matsukawa and Hanamaki separate suddenly after not anticipating being interrupted in the middle of their session of heated kisses.

Oikawa shook his jaw.

The two of them were laying down in the bed of the first of them, and Hanamaki covered his more than evident blush as Matsukawa smiled more than amused by the sudden change of environment, and by the drastic turn of the situation.

“Makki! Mattsun!” Oikawa shouted, totally euphoric.

Suddenly he began to applaud without stopping and didn’t hesitate to run at full speed towards his two friends to pounce on them without shame, while Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at the glimpse of his best friend's exaggerated behavior, and closed the door of their room.

“Don't be annoying, Stupidkawa. Not that it's news that we just saw," he said, throwing himself into his own bed.

Oikawa replaced his animated smile with a face of confusion and a serious look of accusation directed towards his best friend.

“Did you already know Iwa-chan?!”

"I discovered them in the same situation a month ago when I went to Makki's house," he replied nonchalantly.

The mentioned one hid his face in both hands when he remembered how he had been surprised together with Matsukawa by an innocent Iwaizumi who decided to visit him by surprise, only to end up being the one who took an even bigger surprise.

“Why did nobody tell me?!” Oikawa exasperated and crossed his arms, still lying on the bodies of his friends.

Matsukawa gave a funny laugh and put an arm around Hanamaki's shoulders to draw him towards him.

"Because we knew you would act this way once you discovered it," he said with a smile on his face.

“Mattsun!” Oikawa reproached “Makki!” He shouted even louder, seeing the boy next to the first one.

For the first time since Oikawa and Iwaizumi came to the room, Hanamaki stopped hiding his flushed face behind his hands.

"I wanted to tell you, but Mattsun said it was better if you discovered it for yourself because he wanted to see your reaction," he confessed.

Those words were enough for Oikawa to steal a pillow and start hitting with it the two of them for not telling him about the apparent relationship between them. Iwaizumi didn’t hesitate to throw one at him from where he was, only to receive another pillow in return.

"Now I want to know all the details," Oikawa inquired, resting his elbows on the space he managed to create between the pair that left in evidence to be more than friends, to support his chin on his knuckles and observe them totally delighted with the carefree smile of Matsukawa and the slight blush of Hanamaki.

“Are you sure you want to know all the details?”

“How can you be with a dirty like him, Makki?” Oikawa asked when he heard Matsukawa speak, who did nothing more than bring closer the boy whose lips he already knew well enough to kiss him on the forehead and make him blush again “Will I have to sleep in another room from now on?”

"Don’t you dare leave me alone with them, Oikawa." Iwaizumi said threateningly.

“You have no opinion here, Iwa-chan! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” He shouted turning around to see the one who was watching the ceiling of the room.

“They asked me.”

“Mean, you're all mean!"

Oikawa suppressed his cries of exasperation after hiding his face in the bed.

Hanamaki laughed at his words, while Iwaizumi continued to see the ceiling with a frown, knowing that Matsukawa's gaze was resting on him. He crossed his arms even while lying down, and pressed his lips in a sign of disgust because he knew the true meaning of that look.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!

Kuroo blinked several times, realizing that for the umpteenth time, he let his thoughts drag him somewhere else except where he should be: focused on the book in front of him. He thought that deciding to study in the library would help his attention to focus on the paragraphs to be learned, but the silence and atmosphere of tranquility around him only gave him a little push to still be distracted.

His head only projected a single image: Kenma.

He couldn’t stop thinking about him and he wasn’t trying to stop either.

The urgency he felt to cross words with him grew more and more, and so far he didn’t achieve anything that could help him calm down, since every time he crossed paths with the one with blond hair and black roots, he ran away from him as fast as he could, and Kenma wasn’t a person known for being active even if he was in the Ravenclaw’s quidditch team, so that only meant that he really didn’t want to see him. Whether by accident as on the train, or purposely as in the classroom door, Kenma avoided him at all costs, leaving him with words in his mouth and guilt on his shoulders.

“I knew you would be here.”

Kuroo stopped seeming to be lost after Daichi took place in front of him.

The Slytherin smiled sideways when he saw that it was him.

“Were you looking for me?” He asked with a playful smirk.

“Today you were distracted in class, and that usually doesn’t happen to you, so I wanted to know if you were fine," he said.

"Daichi, did I just hear you worried about me?" Kuroo smiled haughtily, and Daichi giggled when he heard him. However, the one belonging to Slytherin remembered that Kenma wasn’t the only image in his head that was preventing him to focus on his study “In fact, can I ask you a question?" The one with brown eyes nodded “How did you manage to get Tanaka and Yamamoto, and Nishinoya, to listen to you?" He asked. Daichi looked at him in surprise, waiting for him to ask about something else “You make them listen to you. Tanaka and Yamamoto seem to control their temper when you tell them. It's possible to say that the same thing doesn’t happen when I try it with Yahaba and Futakuchi." Kuroo added.

The Gryffindor realized that his friend was thinking about the small exchange of words and contemptuous looks that the sixth years of their houses had shared, and that while Yamamoto and Tanaka listened attentively and even fled from him when he remained serious, it wasn’t the same situation with Futakuchi and Yahaba, who seemed reluctant to listen to who was sitting in front of him at that moment.

"I suppose my seriousness helps me," Daichi inquired, not knowing what else to say “Although, since I've been named captain of the team, they seem more susceptible to listening to me than before. But I guess it’s because I’m prefect too.”

The captain of the previous year left him the position of leader of the team of quidditch, reason why Daichi became the new captain and that year would be his first and last fulfilling that roll. He didn’t doubt that those who composed the team last year would continue to do so that year, so he believed that Yamamoto and Tanaka, who had been part of the team since last year, and Nishinoya since he was in fourth year, had begun to respect him much more since they learned that he would coordinate them both on and off the field.

Kuroo simply stared at the book in front of him for a few seconds.

He thought to say something, but chose to smile and rest his eyes on the boy in front of him.

"You know, you've started coming to the library more often since I told you that sometimes Suga accompanies me to study," he decided to say, changing the topic.

Daichi was paralyzed to hear the name of the other belonging to Slytherin, and then hit his own face with one hand.

"I still think I'm a fool," he said.

"And the brave man becomes a coward," Kuroo smiled arrogantly when he played with a quality of the house to which his friend belonged.

It had been easy for him to discover that Daichi was interested in his roommate, not only because he was watching him all the time whenever the gray-haired one was present, but also because Daichi started asking him questions about Suga; what he did after classes, what his personality was like, and if he thought it was a good idea to approach him. Daichi was sweetly obsessed with him, and Kuroo loved being able to bother him about it.

"I’m going to be able talk to him without ruining it, you'll see," the determined Gryffindor announced.

Kuroo had already forgotten all the times he had heard him say that phrase.

And while Daichi continued to assure him that soon would arrive the day he could have a conversation with Suga, Kuroo couldn’t help but lose himself in his thoughts again. Because although he liked the fascination that Daichi felt for Suga, he couldn’t help but think how much he envied him despite Daichi not being able to speak to the gray-haired one, because at least he didn’t know if Suga would reject him or not; while it was clear to him that Kenma was looking to elude him in all possible ways.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how much he missed him, and how different his situation would be if he hadn’t let himself be carried away by his heart, and commit what it turned out to be the worst mistake of his life, even if he didn’t consider it one.

* * *

“And what did Daichi tell you?” Daishou asked before throwing the quaffle back.

After have been doing the same for the last five minutes, Kuroo easily caught the ball.

"That being the new captain helps him," he replied, throwing the quaffle at him.

Both belonged to the Slytherin quidditch team, so they believed that a free afternoon could be used to make short-range passes between the two, since the practices would begin in a few days.

“Ironic,” Diashou chuckled. He returned the ball, and Kuroo held it in his hands for long seconds “The fact that Futakuchi and Yahaba didn’t listen to you in a simple discussion has affected you more than you wanted, hasn’t it? You are deeply in your thoughts," he added when he saw him looking at the quaffle with a conflictuos expression.

Daishou knew him from head to toe not only because they were roommates, but because they belonged to the same house and quidditch team, and also because as weird as everyone seemed to think, they were close friends, even though they would never admitted out loud, so he knew the boy that was with him was distracted, thinking of situations that already had happened.

"It only bothers me," Kuroo said, throwing the quaffle back at him.

“Don't think about them anymore. They don’t listen to anyone anyway. Why do you think last year we didn’t win the House Cup? They subtracted more points than they have added by behaving the way they did. It's not something specific against you,” Daishou assured him.

“I know, but I am-

"It doesn’t matter who you are," he interrupted, knowing what he was going to say “If they listen to you, they listen to you. If they don’t, they don’t. It's as simple as it sounds. And if problems start, you know what you can do.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes, managing to receive the quaffle with more intensity in exchange for that gesture.

“Don’t roll your eyes. You must get used to that now I will bother you even more than before.”

Daishou managed to make his friend smile sideways, and was forced to receive the ball with the same power with which he had thrown it.

"I hope you two are not straining," they listened.

Suga gave them a nice smile when they rested their eyes on him, and after throwing the ball up sometimes, Daishou threw it at him, who caught it perfectly and didn’t hesitate to join the small activity after dropping his backpack on the grass and throw it to Kuroo, who momentarily let himself be distracted with his two roommates.

* * *

Nishinoya ran at full speed through one of the many corridors that made up the castle, quickly moving away from the place where he heard that laugh that caused chills and emotion at the same time. He looked back for a few seconds and continued walking swiftly, not caring that some people were observing him strangely. He wanted to find Tanaka and Yamamoto since it was always more fun when one of them was present, but the desire to find one of his friends disappeared when he spotted a tall boy with the Hufflepuff uniform that was in the middle of the hall reviewing one of his books. His eyes sparkled and he stuck out his tongue as if he was totally amused before running towards him.

“Asahi-san!” he screamed enthusiastically.

The aforementioned was totally confused when he suddenly spotted Nishinoya hiding under his tunic. The one of smaller height always found some opportunity to take advantage of the great stature of him to his favor.

“Protect me, Asahi-san!”

“Eh?!"

The one who always wore his brown hair tied in a ponytail from behind, and had a bit of beard on his chin, was the opposite of what he seemed to be by his exterior, because unlike his appearance and his tall stature that managed to give a chaotic appearance, he was kind and gentle. Very rarely did he get angry, and anyone who knew him could claim that he was a good person.

And the person who had just used his tunic as a hiding place, turned out to be the complete opposite of him. Nishinoya was easily known for his energetic character and compulsive personality, as well as for his lack of ability to sit still or quiet for a long time in one place. He always got into trouble, and making jokes with his closest friends was one of his favorite pastimes. So it wasn’t a surprise that Asahi began hyperventilating when he realized that the one who had his dark brown hair up and a lighter frontal lock that fell down his forehead, had probably committed some buffoonery and was now hiding so as not to face whoever he bothered.

And he turned out to be right, because after a few seconds, all the students around him ran out in different directions when they recognized that annoying and noisy laughter that could only belong to what most frightened any young person: Peeves.

The naughty poltergeist watched Nishinoya, who was now hiding behind the back of Asahi, who in turn was about to suffer a heart attack because he too could be considered a personal victim of Peeves, since the poltergeist loved the speed with which the seventh-year student was scared. So at that moment he didn’t hesitate, and instead of saving the water balloons to throw them at Nishinoya, he threw them towards him. And in less than a few seconds, the Hufflepuff member found himself completely drenched from head to toe, and although Nishinoya remained hidden behind him for fear that Peeves would throw water balloons at him too, the poltergeist went back where he had appeared after deciding to bother other students, so Nishinoya began to laugh out loud when he saw himself out of danger and observe the one who was two years old, completely wet.

Asahi became a statue because panic was still running through his entire body, and heard how Nishinoya laughed unable to stop and didn’t care at all that he became his shield of protection. Finally, the older one of both began to laugh too, until he realized that his book was also soaked.

* * *

 Ennoshita chased Kenma with his eyes once he met him in the common room, wondering why he was totally drenched from head to toe and holding the electronic device that he didn’t seem to want to let go even if it could get wet, although he held it away from his body so it wouldn’t get ruined. “Peeves.” Was the only word the boy with dyed hair said while he was thinking of going to the outside of the castle because he thought the wind would be the only thing that could dry him.

Ennoshita giggled when he heard him and continued to go to his room. He wasn’t surprised to find Akaashi lying on his bed with a book in his hands, which came down to check that it was him and not Kenma, who had appeared only a few seconds ago to leave his belongings and go away again.

"It's weird to see you smiling," he mentioned.

Ennoshita was surprised to hear Akaashi, who put the book back in front of his eyes.

"I saw Kenma all wet," he explained.

“He was here seconds ago. It isn’t a surprise that he didn’t realize Peeves was throwing him a water balloon,” He said at the thought that, at the moment in which the poltergeist chose him as his next victim, since throughout the day he had heard and seen that Peeves had been enthusiastic about the same joke, Kenma was probably focused enough on the electronic device in his hands to realize that soon he would be all drenched and would only manage to save his precious object by reflexes.

The newcomer left his backpack and then sat next to Akaashi.

“Have I not been smiling these days?” he asked him after rethinking his words.

Since he mentioned that it was weird to see him with a smile, it amazed him.

"Not during the last few days at least," Akaashi mentioned.

"You don’t either," he said without knowing why.

“I never smile.”

Upon hearing him, Ennoshita finally let a smile appear on his face.

“Maybe… I don’t know. I'm still upset,” he chose to say.

“Is it the same as the other night?”

The black-haired boy let a few seconds pass before answering.

"I think so," Ennoshita answered a little bit doubtful.

He couldn’t define exactly how he was. He felt annoyed with himself and was sure that a great weight was on his shoulders, clinging to his body to not leave him alone even when trying to fall asleep.

Ennoshita let out a sigh, and he glanced at his friend who continued with his eyes focused on his book. He was aware that Akaashi never smiled, but that didn’t mean his roommate didn't care about him, so he finally tried to start getting rid of that annoyance that he felt the only way he knew how to do it: talking.

“Akaashi, can I ask you a question?” He only saw him nod “Do you like Bokuto?” 

Maybe talking was not his forte and sometimes he felt that chatting with his roommate only made him hate him because he couldn’t measure his words and was very direct, but he knew that Akaashi didn’t like to talk about himself either, so sooner or later the conversation would lead to him and his own problems, so he would have to talk. And that was what Ennoshita wanted, to talk about himself.

Akaashi stared at the book. But he wasn’t reading.

He rested completely tense, and continued in silence for a few long minutes, making the other one spoke again.

“Why don’t you answer?" Ennoshita insisted.

He didn’t know why he asked that question. Or maybe he did. Maybe he knew what was happening to his friend and also what was happening to himself. Maybe he wanted to know if the same thing happened to Akaashi as he did and therefore he could let off steam without any problem.

“Because when in class they ask something which answer I don’t know, I don’t raise my hand, and I remain silent.” Akaashi finally said.

He decided to close his book and sat up, letting his back rest against the wall and the pillow on his bed. Ennoshita felt his gaze on him, so he continued with his eyes fixed on his hands. He wanted to understand why he felt so nervous, why he wanted so badly for his roommate to talk to him. Or in that case, for Akaashi to listen to him as he had done so many times before.

“Could you define what it is to like?” He listened.

“I don’t know. I guess that liking someone implies thinking about that person all the time, even when you don’t want to," he answered.

“Do you think of Tanaka all the time?”

Ennoshita swallowed when he heard his name.

He achieved it.

He managed to get Akaashi to divert the conversation to him as he had expected. 

The moment Akaashi expressed out aloud what has been bothering him. 

What was it that kept him from smiling as usual?

He was grateful that Akaashi was in his same house for being as smart as he was, for being identical to him when it came to being meticulous and unnoticed when required, as well as paying attention and not letting anything go by. And for the same reason, and although he didn’t show it at all, it took Ennoshita less than a few seconds to realize that the embrace that Bokuto had spontaneously given him, for Akaashi meant more than a simple hug between two people.

“Yes.” Ennoshita confessed. Akaashi moved to sit next to him, and also began to play with his fingers "I hate you knowing me so well," he added.

"I can say the same about you," Akaashi said looking at him, getting Ennoshita to do the same.

“Do you think about Bokuto all the time?” He asked.

“Sometimes.”

The two friends remained silent for a few minutes.

Ennoshita always knew that what he considered annoyance, had always had its name and surname.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imagine the Miya twins. Then imagine the Hitachiin twins. And then imagine Virus and Trip.
> 
> That's all I have to say.

“When will you tell Oikawa that you like him?" Hanamaki asked him.

"Yeah, we made a bet and I don’t want to lose," Matsukawa added.

Iwaizumi didn’t doubt to take advantage of the fact that his two best friends were lying side by side to throw them all the pillows available in the room, to which they responded laughing while uselessly trying to protect themselves with their arms.

“It's not funny. If he finds out because of you, I will kill you." Iwaizumi determined.

For him it wasn’t funny at all that because of the big mouths of his roommates, there was the possibility that Oikawa would hear that he didn’t see the relationship between them in the same way he did. He didn’t know from what moment he begun to feel that way, but he did know that he cursed that day, because since he understood that his heart was not satisfied with the relationship he was currently holding with Oikawa, he felt that everything around him was confusing, that his feelings were betraying him, and that he didn’t need the two who were supposed to be his best friends, to laugh at him to make him feel worse with this hopeless situation.

"I’ll never do it." he added decisively.

Both Hanamaki and Matsukawa stopped laughing when they noticed him more serious than usual.

Fear was what he felt. The fear that his relationship with whom he had always considered his best friend, suddenly cease to exist simply for not being able to contain the feelings that every day and night felt that only increased within him.

“I can never let him know.”

"I think you're exaggerating," Matsukawa inquired.

"Losing him because of what I feel is not an exaggeration," Iwaizumi stated.

Iwaizumi never planned for his best friends to know about his feelings towards Oikawa, but he hadn’t been able to contain what he felt, so the reason he learned about the relationship between them before the one who was absent at that moment, it was because he went to Hanamaki's house during the holidays, determined to express aloud and chat with him about what was happening to him, only to be surprised after finding them in the same situation Oikawa did a couple of days ago. But in the end, the fact that Matsukawa also heard him helped him to download both, and he was grateful that neither of them betrayed him by talking about it with Oikawa, since he could let everyone know what his emotions dictated, except him. He didn’t want their relationship to be ruined because it wasn't possible to silence the feeling of frustration that flooded him every time he met Oikawa.

“You plan to keep the secret for the rest of your life? No matter how badly it does to you?" Matsukawa asked.

“I rather save our relationship before my own self,” Iwaizumi answered without a doubt.

Hanamaki formed a pout with his lips when he heard him.

He didn’ think that hiding his feelings was the best thing for him, but he didn’t feel he had the right to tell him to be honest with Oikawa and confess what he felt, because if it hadn’t been for Matsukawa and his bravery, he would never have told him that he also saw him differently and preferred to maintain another kind of relationship beyond friendship with him. And besides, he understood that not all feelings were always reciprocated, so although he didn’t like to see his best friend suffer for what he felt for his other best friend, he preferred that Iwaizumi continue to pretend in front of Oikawa.

Matsukawa let out a sigh, since he believed the opposite.

That Iwaizumi and Oikawa were destined to be together as well as Hanamaki and him, and that in a not so distant future the four of them would be laughing for all the time they decided to ignore their respective feelings instead of being sincere with each other, to finally be content to have dared to be honest and let their hearts win over the fear of being rejected.

"I'll go to leave them alone," Iwaizumi inquired suddenly, approaching the door of the room.

There was still some time for dinner, and he preferred to spend his time in the common room so he wouldn’t feel he was a third wheel, even if them never made feel him like that.

"You can stay," Hanamaki told him, and Matsukawa agreed with him.

“It's still too early for you to invite me to have a threesome, you bastards,” was the last thing he said before giving them a smile and then closing the door.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa laughed when they heard him, but then they look at each other in silence, knowing that if they wanted to make their best friend stop being sad,  then they had to intervene and act on their own.

* * *

Iwaizumi had been sitting in one of the dark green sofas that were in the common room of the house to which he belonged, finding nothing more interesting to do than looking at the ceiling while he considered himself a good friend for having left Hanamaki and Matsukawa alone, at the same time that some other students were around him talking to each other or doing some other activities, when he suddenly felt a weight on his lap and lowered his eyes to realize that Oikawa appeared to lean back on the couch and use his legs as a pillow while holding a book in his hands, which seemed to have caught his attention since he only wore glasses when the reading really interested him, and therefore, his eyesight got tired quickly.

That was one of the many things that he discovered about Oikawa.

“Why do you seem so bored, Iwa-chan?” the brunet asked.

"I don’t know if you've heard, but now our roommates are dating," he said sarcastically “So I decided to be a good friend and leave them alone for a while.”

Oikawa giggled when he heard him.

A few minutes passed in silence, Oikawa reading the book in his hands and Iwaizumi interspersed his gaze between the brown-haired head and the rest of the common room.

“What do you think about Mattsun and Makki?” Oikawa asked suddenly.

That he envied them?

That he wished he could be as honest as Matsukawa?

As happy as Hanamaki seemed to be?

That he was happy for them because finding reciprocated feelings was difficult?

That he wished to find himself in the same situation with the boy that asked the question that in that moment unleashed a string of thoughts that drew his mood towards an abyss?

"That opposites attract," he answered shutting his own self.

He cursed the day when he started feeling more than a simple friendship towards him.

“We are opposites, Iwa-chan.”

And he cursed that his words affected him in ways they didn’t before.

"Because you're a fool and I'm smart, Trashykawa," he said.

The only thing that remained the same was how pleased it was to annoy him.

Oikawa closed his book to try to hit him with it, but only managed to get Iwaizumi to take it off and hit him with the same instead. He let out a small laugh as Oikawa rubbed that part of his head and glared at him through his square glasses. Iwaizumi poked his cheek to make him stop looking at him, and then rested his elbow on the armrest of the sofa and rested his chin on his hand to direct his gaze to any other place but the eyes of the one who caused so much trouble inside of him.

Why couldn’t he feel calm as he always had?

Because he wasn’t the same anymore.

His feelings weren't the same.

Why couldn’t he shut up the voice that ate away at his thoughts?

Because he couldn’t stop thinking about all the possible consequences if one day he gathered enough courage to tell him the truth.

Why had he fallen in love with him?

Why not someone else?

Anybody.

Out of everyone, why he?

His chain of questions was suddenly interrupted when a pink spot interrupted his field of vision, and he took some inches back and then roll his eyes after realizing that the doormat that appeared in front of him, was nothing more and nothing less than the pink micropuff that was given to Oikawa on his thirteenth birthday, and which, despite being nothing more than a small floppy pink plush creature, seemed to have the same personality as its owner, since just as Oikawa was usually found with him, the micropuff followed him everywhere, and therefore, Iwaizumi not only had to learn to endure an inconvenience, but two.

He saw the micropuff floating around him until the same decided to rest on his head, making anyone who entered the common room of Slytherin, remain astonished after seeing a boy with serious expression and severe look, with a nice pink micropuff sitting on his strands.

"Oikawa, take your thing away from me," Iwaizumi manifested, returning his gaze to him.

"His name is Aoba, not ‘thing’," the boy with brown hair indicated with his eyes on the book.

“Remove it.”

Oikawa let out a sigh when he heard him, and although he closed his book and looked up to look at him seriously, slowly an animated smile began to trace its way in his face as well as an expression of amusement.

"You laugh and I'll make sure you sleep in the corridor,” Iwaizumi assured him, looking at him.

“Stop threatening me Iwa-chan.”

The aforementioned remained completely still when Oikawa left his book on his lap to sit and stretch his arms towards his head, and Iwaizumi only turned it once he sighted the micropuff in Oikawa's hands, seeming to look at him with a sad expression until his eyes were removed from him when the boy with brown hair took a candy out of his pocket and unwrapped it and then put it on his hand, making the micropuff completely distracted after showing its little tongue a color barely pinker than his coat to taste said sweet. Oikawa looked at the creature with a sideways smile while Iwaizumi looked at him, or at his lips to be more specific, until the brown-haired one looked at him and Iwaizumi looked away.

He had no idea how he would manage not to blush each time he was with Oikawa.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, quidditch's here. At least sort of.
> 
> Hope you're enjoying the story!

There were still a few days until the try outs to get into the teams were finally made, and instead of continuing to complain, Hinata managed to convince Inuoka to practice with him, since although they couldn’t do it in the quidditch field and the first of them wanted to be a chaser while the second a seeker, that didn’t mean there weren’t other spaces in Hogwarts that could be used to make passes among them, which explained why they were mounted on their brooms in one of the large portions of gardens with which the castle counted. They were used to playing with each other as well as pointing out any mistakes they saw, and although it would have been more convenient for Inuoka to chase a snitch, he knew that some passes with his best friend were useful as them would keep him prepared for when he and Hinata showed up to do the try outs.

While passing the quaffle between them, they heard that someone exclaimed their names, and although they weren’t surprised to see Yamaguchi and Yachi greeting them with their hands, whom they had known during their first year not only because they shared classes, but because the two belonging to Hufflepuff were of the most friendly and nicer people they ever knew, they were amazed when they spotted Tsukishima with them, because although they were accustomed to seeing him because where Yamaguchi was, usually he too, they didn’t expect him to accept being with them knowing that they would also be present, since although they didn’t maintain a bad relationship with him, the one belonging to Ravenclaw was the opposite to the Hufflepuff's duo.

Sarcastic. Ironic.

But they knew that he also wanted to play quidditch, and it was enough for them to make the effort.

They descended from their brooms to greet them and Tsukishima didn’t hesitate to show his personality as soon as he had the opportunity.

“You already consider yourself a bad sekeer that now you want to be a chaser?” he expressed after seeing the quaffle under Inuoka’s arm, who only chose to look at him seriously, being more than accustomed to his words.

“Tsukki, we didn’t bring bludgers, so technically the same could be said about you and me.”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

“You didn’t bring the bludgers?! Then we can’t play two against two!” Hinata exclaimed indignantly.

"Sorry, they were already taken," the Hufflepuff inquired with an innocent smile.

They were accustomed to playing two against two, because although Inuoka wanted to be a seeker, they took advantage of Hinata wanting to occupy the position of chaser while Tsukishima and Yamaguchi of beaters to pair with each other and make a small match between them, which usually always ended with one of the two Gryffindors complaining because the blond sent the bludgers to both equally, regardless of whether one was on his team while the other wasn’t.

And Yachi, who didn’t doubt to shake her head and totally reject the idea of belonging to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team when the one of her own house and the two Gryffindors proposed it to her, anyway she had no problem watching them fly over their brooms, not only because she learned to point out certain mistakes that she began to notice from all the times she saw them playing, as well as learning about the sport itself and by listening to them talk about it all day and night, but also because she liked to draw, and usually the movements she could see were enough inspiration for her to feel satisfied with her drawings.

Sometimes Lev also accompanied them, but one way or another, he always ended up being immersed in detention for different reasons, which explained why it was usually only the five of them, although he seemed to have behaved well during that day, because from one second to another, he was spotted approaching them at full speed with his broom in hand while shouting their names.

"Don’t  ... start ..." He breathed deeply to get back the air he had lost in the race he played against himself “without me!” He was able to finished saying.

“With or without you we won’t play, we don’t have bludgers,” Tsukishima said looking at him.

Lev let out a complaint before taking the same words to throw himself face up in the grass after hearing that he hurried for nothing because they couldn’t play due to the lack of some balls essential to hold a small game between them, but he suddenly seemed to recover all his energies after raising half of his body, smiling enthusiastically.

“Anyway, we still have the quaffle!” He exclaimed cheerfully.

“Do I look like I want to touch the quaffle?”

“You don’t know what you're missing, Tsukishima!” Hinata exclaimed at his words.

For him, there was no better feeling than to receive a good pass or make a successful one.

Even if he never found himself inside the quidditch field, even if he had never been part of a team made up of people who were fans of that sport just like him, he was aware of the excitement that ran through his entire body when the quaffle was under his possession no matter if it was seconds or minutes.

"The only thing I'm missing is my time, that for the record, I could be using to study," the blond said.

"Now that I think about it, I'm also behind on my homework," Yamaguchi added with a grimace.

“I'm not behind. I just want to advance,”

“Tsukki, you're so smart!”

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

"I wanted to draw," Yachi began, sitting down next to Lev “But if you won’t fly, I guess I can draw some trees,” she said, her eyes beginning to drift toward the treetops that weren't so far away from them.

“We'll fly Yachi! You'll have your drawings!” Hinata assured her along with a big smile “Who wants to play?!”

“Pass,” Tsukishima was the first to sit next to the blonde.

"I think I'll just be an obstacle, I'm more used to bludgers," Yamaguchi said.

“Me! I want to play!” Inuoka said raising his hand that at that moment held the quaffle.

But suddenly everyone saw how it disappeared, and although the first instinct of the Gryffindor was to raise his hands innocently after checking that the ball didn’t fall near him, everyone rested their eyes on Lev, since he kept his wand pointed towards Inuoka and a grimace on his face that evidenced that he did something he was already sorry for.

“Did you just make the quaffle disappear?” Yamaguchi asked blinking without knowing what to think.

“THE QUAFFLE!” Hinata shouted horrified.

“I wanted to attract it to me not to make it disappear!” Lev screamed looking at his wand in horror.

“THE QUAFFLE!” the orange-haired boy repeated in the same dramatic tone.

"Now I don’t regret having come," Tsukishima said before laughing amused, though he stopped doing it as soon as Yamaguchi laid his eyes on him.

“Now ... how ... how we will play?” Inuoka asked still looking at his empty hand.

They all remained silent for a few seconds, Lev watching his wand with terror as Hinata looked at him with horror after having committed what for him was the worst crime in history, at the same time that Yachi had already begun to sketch trees in her book and Yamaguchi watched her while Tsukishima watched him, and Inuoka kept moving his hand as if the quaffle would be able to appear again thanks to him.

But the calm only lasted a few seconds.

“The one that catches that bird first, wins!”

From one moment to the next Lev threw his wand onto the lawn to stand up, climbed on his broom and quickly left after searching for the winged animal he had sighted not far from them, and a second later Hinata flew after him, while the Hufflepuff's duo and the only one belonging to Ravenclaw rested their eyes on the Gryffindor that remained with them.

“With a quaffle I was willing. With a bird, there’s no way,” Inuoka said before resting his broom on the lawn and sitting down to join in watching Yachi draw.

Oblivious to the four who had remained seated, Hinata and Lev were already in the air. Both observing the blue bird with black wings that had increased the speed of its flight after realizing that two students were behind him, the one with orange hair and the one belonging to Hufflepuff quickly found themselves mounted on their brooms, away from the castle grounds to feel the wind shaking their hair and cool their faces, as well as the adrenaline going through their arms while keeping their hands tied to the front part of the broom to balance their bodies so in that way they wouldn't fall from where they were, because although none noticed, they were too far from the ground covered by grass. Their friends became little figures, and they were closer to the towers of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor than of the Slytherin dungeons or the Hufflepuff basement.

“As always, it will be easy with you, my arms are much longer!” Lev shouted.

And instead of feeling offended, Hinata only smiled enthusiastically at his words.

He considered that Inuoka was a great friend for agreeing to practice with him even if he wanted to be a seeker, but the personal competitions he had started to have with the Hufflepuff member since they both declared themselves to want to be chasers of their respective teams, were the ones that most amused Hinata, not only because Lev's words were said without malice and because he was sincere in that way, but because the gray-haired one was one of the few, who, despite expressing those comments, didn’t underestimate him because of the difference in height between them both, and he took him seriously every time they faced each other.

“I may not be tall, but I can fly!” Hinata exclaimed as he could while flying at full speed.

He was only a few inches behind Lev, although the bird continued to be at a great distance away from them, showing that no matter how much they loved adrenaline or sudden competition, a flying animal wasn’t the same as a quaffle, or a snitch, since it seemed that the confrontation they had predisposed for that moment seemed to have been done more for Inuoka than for the two of them, but anyway they continued to chase the bird, without hesitating to avoid the obstacles that began to appear before them, without realizing that what they were avoiding weren't mere treetops, but parts of one of the highest areas of the castle.

But suddenly their attention was diverted from both when they stopped being the only ones mounted on their brooms chasing the bird. The two felt that a gust of wind shook their bodies, and although they thought the weather couldn’t change from one moment to the next, they soon realized that the breeze was caused by someone flying at full speed next to them, someone who was riding on his broom and managed to surpass them in a matter of seconds no matter how far away they had been, and it was a matter of seconds before Hinata replaced his joy with anger after distinguishing the back of the last model of the Nimbus that he had sighted in the store that day in Diagon Alley, and only had to keep looking to verify that the one who was riding on his broom, was the only person who he was aware had a broom like that.

Kageyama.

Hinata frowned and narrowed his eyes after realizing that he couldn’t keep them completely open not only because he didn’t have protectors for them because he never thought he would be flying that high when he only arranged with the rest of the group to dome some passes and maybe play a little but calm match, but also because he increased his speed so as not to be behind the one that unlike Lev, didn’t hesitate to underestimate him just by looking at him. He couldn’t lose to him. He didn’t want to lose to him.

He focused so much on him that he didn’t heard or sighted Lev behind him assuring him that he would hit a part of the Gryffindor’s Tower if he continued to fly at that speed, but Hinata only veered off the path to avoid colliding against the set of bricks and continue with the arranged rhythm. He was no longer chasing the bird, the animal itself having disappeared from his field of vision several seconds ago.

He just wanted to reach him.

Maybe their brooms weren't of the same quality and maybe they didn’t have the same experience, but they did share the same desire to play Quidditch, the same desire to be mounted on their brooms, to be considered the fastest, those that wanted to remain inside the Quidditch field for longer, although at that time they weren’t in the field, and yes close to the lower structure of the castle when Hinata began to descend after seeing Kageyama do it, who despite not having any protectors for his eyes either,  didn’t slow down and didn’t avoid turning his head every so often to check that he was still the one leading.

Hinata clutched his hands more firmly to the broomstick and slowly began to be able to distinguish him better, to be able to visualize the details of the new broom that he carried with elegance but also with determination, until he realized that he could repair in the differences between their brooms because he was only a few millimeters away from him, and when he was finally about to stand beside him, everything stopped.

Suddenly, unexpectedly.

Both braked in their places not understanding how it was that they didn’t lost the balance when their brooms stop moving suddenly and without them wanted to, until they stopped focusing on each other to realize that they were closer to the ground unlike they had thought, that Professor Ukai, who had been their flight teacher in their first year, and who also coordinated the matches and arranged all the details with reference to the Quidditch Tournament between the houses, was pointing to them with his wand while his whole class composed of first-year students looked at them with their eyes open, some with emotion, others with fear. Beside them, Hinata spotted his group of friends as well as Lev too, who seemed to have descended from his broom a long time ago as he kept his feet on the grass as well as his broom in hand instead of between his legs.

“Accio!”

The word manifested by the only adult present made their brooms continue without paying attention to them, since as soon as the spell was pronounced, those dragged them towards all those who watched them without taking their eyes from them, and from one moment to the next, their feet touched the lawn as well as the teacher and those of their same year approached them.

“You can’t fly so high, it’s dangerous!” Ukai said observing them while he kept his wand.

It was clear that he did perform more than one spell, and that the both of them flew high enough to be considered dangerous for the professor to be forced to stop his own class to stop them, although the expressions of concern in the group of their same year were enough to show that what had started being a fun competition between Lev and Hinata, ended up being an uncontrolled confrontation between the last of them and Kageyama.

“I was about to reach you!” The orange-haired one didn’t hesitate to express.

He ignored the professor’s words and the faces of the others to focus on the only present that after hearing those words he observed with a frown.

“Of course not!” Kageyama exclaimed.

“Yes, I was!”

“You are dumb when you're on the broom, and you planned to beat me?"

“Hey, you two!” Professor Ukai shouted.

“You only managed to take the lead because of the broom you have!”

Kageyama's eyes glared at him as soon as he dared to express that.

“Of course not, it's because I'm faster than you!”

“You are not!”

“If you wouldn’t keep your back in a vertical position, then you could acquire more speed, you dumbass!”

“Both of you dare to say something else and none of you will be allow to do the try outs for the team!”

Ukai finally got the reaction he had been looking for after expressing those words without hesitation, since he didn’t doubted that those two flew over at least half of the castle because they wanted to appear in the team's try outs, but there were still a few days left, so they decided to spend their energies that way. Both Hinata and Kageyama stopped screaming at each other as soon as they heard him, and finally broke eye contact between them to focus their attention on the adult.

"Stay here," he demanded “All of you," he added, looking at all the students around him before he strode off, probably going to find another teacher.

“If I win detention because of you, my wand will take care of you.” Tsukishima stated.

The first year students looked at each other while the Hufflepuff's duo was the first to approach both, because although they never crossed words with the black-haired one, that didn’t mean he didn’t worry them just as Hinata did.

“Are you okay?” Yamaguchi asked with a worried expression.

Yachi's face only indicated a mixture of horror and panic.

“Yes,” was the only thing Kageyama said.

“I'm sorry Yachi, you couldn’t draw us.”

The words spoken with a tone of voice off by part of the orange-haired one made the blonde stop concentrating on the vertigo that had given her to see them flying at that distance from where she was with the others, and replaced her expression of fear with a gentle smile that made Hinata smile.

“When you join the team, I’ll have many opportunities to draw you.”

The smile on the orange-haired boy's face only increased.

"And you too, if you let me draw you," Yachi added, watching Kageyama.

"S-sure," he said before looking away on purpose.

“That was amazing!” Lev's scream suddenly broke the whole atmosphere.

Inuoka, who remained at his side, turned his head to look at him without being impressed.

“You cowered,”

“I was going to crash!” The gray-haired one waved his hands in the air.

Suddenly all the first-year students stopped to remain silent or to slash between them to laugh out loud at the exchange of words and glances between those who happened to be the tallest, who, next to eleven-year-olds, seemed even taller of what they already were, not to mention that some of them also left Tsukishima's space for the same reason, making Yamaguchi choke a giggle, although he himself wasn’t so out of being considered a giant either.

And although everyone kept laughing, Hinata's attention was again focused on Kageyama.

The black-haired one didn’t hesitate to leave and get away from them even though Professor Ukai told them to do the opposite, and having been so focused on destroying each other while they were on their brooms, neither of them realized that the adult, the freshmen, and the rest of the same year as them, weren’t the only ones who saw them fly around the castle.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Classes started on Monday and I want to die already, but yesterday youtube suggested that I see Assassination Classroom and of course now I'm in love with Karma, so let's just pretend everything's fine. Although today I had a mind-blowing class, so not everything's lost.
> 
> Just to let you know, from now on the story will be focused mainly on quidditch, the trainings and matches between the houses, because from that, problems are created and therefore the relationships between the characters change.

Easily considered the most popular sport in school and the magical world, Quidditch managed to get the students to gather in the stands to watch every match between the houses take place, as well to get people organized themselves to attend games where their favorite teams participated. It was the favorite activity of the great majority, and a great fascination for some. In Hogwarts the houses received points for the performances of the students during the games, and there was even a choir that sang in some special occasions. The castle's quidditch field was on the grounds of the castle, was used by the teams to practice and play games between the houses not only to compete in the Quidditch Tournament, but also to score points to take the lead in the Cup of the Houses. It consisted of a wooden structure and bleachers decorated with drawings of the participating houses as well as flags of the same, three rings were at each end, the newly cut grass worked as the base of the stadium, and the areas in which space were contained the hoops had recently been painted. It was a space where good relationships were developed as well as enmity and long confrontations, where links of different types were given as well as crossed words.

And although it wasn’t the first time he was inside the Quidditch pitch, it was the first time that his feet were on the grassy ground instead of in the stands in the Hufflepuff section, so Yamaguchi instinctively grabbed his hand to his broom as well as he smiled awkwardly and a little nervous when he found himself inside the place where that sport was developing. He remembered being a Quidditch fan since before entering Hogwarts in his first year, so although he could feel his nerves go through his body, he was excited to be in that space. And after breathing deeply, he shyly approached the group of students, and although he knew Bokuto and Terushima because those two also belonged to Hufflepuff, he still crossed his broom in front of him when those two approached, since even if he was used to seeing them as well as listening to them, having them close was something different.

He didn’t doubt that any first-year student would be intimidated by the presence of that pair of friends, since between the strength and the size of the arms of the bicolor-haired one, as well as the tongue piercing and the dyed hair shaved to the sides of the other one, gave them an image that made anyone think that they wouldn’t hesitate to crush them as soon as they crossed the corridor, and although during his first years Yamaguchi had thought the same, with time he understood that that pair of friends wasn’t characterized by terrorizing people, but by laughing all the time, talking loudly and continually, and having personalities that made anyone feel comfortable and relaxed around them.

“Damn, we have so many aspirants this year!” Bokuto exclaimed along with a big smile.

The only fact that stop Yamaguchi from collapsing was that his friends were with him.

Lev, Koganegawa, and Shibayama decided to take the try outs to join the team along with him, and around them were several students from minor courses, which made Yamaguchi wonder if it was due to the warmth with which they were handled, the entertaining though noisy personality of Bokuto, or because the previous year Hufflepuff had emerged champion and thus won the Quidditch Tournament, which showed that it wasn’t a surprise that they were obviously looking for a second victory.

“We’ll definitely win again!” Terushima inquired.

His tone of voice sounded as excited as that of the one who had spoken before, with whom at that moment he high-fived.

“With so much emotion they’ll want to run away,” A boy with ocher hair, of thin build and average height, separated the two friends to impose his presence on the candidates who had shown up that afternoon, making Yamaguchi remember seeing him several times "Konoha Akinori, a pleasure," said the senior student before them “I apologize in advance for the behavior of these two," he added, pointing to both Bokuto and Terushima, who exchanged glances with each other as they didn’t know what kind of behavior he was referring to.

"You forgot to mention that you're the vice-captain of the team," Komi said with a laugh.

He was also a senior, of short stature, and like Terushima, his hair was shaved to the sides to leave a speck of hair in the center of his head that turned out to be the same brown as the hue of his eyes. Yamaguchi recognized him because once they had both met in the kitchens after the two of them were looking for ice cream.

Konoha smiled proudly when he heard him.

“And I'm the captain!” Bokuto shouted cheerfully.

He didn’t hesitate to push the blond to avoid that he began to prattle on himself, and didn’t doubt to place his hands at the sides of his waist and raise his head with pride, making some of the youngest who decided to stand for the try-outs, observe each other wondering if they really were ready to belong to a team composed of that range of different personalities. Yamaguchi took advantage of the fact that Bokuto began to talk about himself in order to divert his gaze to the stands, where Yachi warmly waved at him after having promised him that she would be present when he did the try-outs to encourage him, which served because he felt his nerves being diminished, until he saw an expression of fear on his housemate’s face that was due to the fact that she saw a tall boy, with his hair styled as a bun behind his head, and a little bit of beard on his chin, approaching them, and Yamaguchi stifled a laugh because he recognized him.

"He's Asahi, he won’t hurt you," Konoha said pointing to the one who waved at them timidly.

“All right! We shouldn’t keep losing time! Let's see what you’re made of, newbies!” Bokuto exclaimed, returning to being the center of attention “I warn you that no one can take my place as the star of the team! These weapons are not easy to replace," he added, flexing his arms so that his already noticeable and demonstrable muscles were even easier to visualize.

Yamaguchi could swear that he saw stars appear in Lev's and Koganegawa's eyes.

"Who let him be the captain?" Komi asked “Did we really agree with this?”

“Bokuto, Asahi scores as many points as you,” Konoha said.

The one with the hair tied in a ponytail remained totally immobile and without breathing when the captain of the team rested his fulminating amber eyes on him.

“Not this year!”

Bokuto didn’t add another word before mounting on his broom to rise to a great height, quickly followed by Terushima.

“I don’t score as many points as he,” Asahi stated approaching Konoha.

"I know, I just wanted to annoy him," he laughed “Come on Asahi, you're still a fundamental part of the team!” Konoha patted his back as a moral support before they both copied the same actions as the others.

Previously they had explained that since there were several who had come to do the try-outs, they would be divided into groups so that they could observe them in the roles they wanted to occupy and see how they acted together with those who already made up the team, so once Komi made a sign, the four seventh-years rose in the air like him and the rest.

Watari, a sixth-year boy who one way or another everyone knew because he was possibly the most friendly and nicest person in Hufflepuff, positioned himself in front of one of the trios of hoops, since he manifested that he was the current guardian of the house. And Shibayama, who said he wanted to occupy the same position, braked in front of the other three, seeming to be a bundle of nerves even if the environment was warm.

And unlike him, Lev felt extremely relaxed and excited.

Yamaguchi knew that the gray-haired one was close to Bokuto and Terushima, not only because they belonged to the same house, as well as all of them, but because since they had entered Hogwarts, somehow or other Lev always ended up getting into trouble when he was with the two of them and other students of the older years from other houses, which explained why most of the time he didn’t appear when they played with each other because he was always fulfilling some punishment.

So he wasn’t surprised when they only asked Koganegawa and him what positions they wanted to occupy, since the Hufflepuff captain already knew that Lev wanted to play in his same position. They both wanted to be beaters, so Konoha was the one who gave them the bats since he was already one of the team's official beaters.

“The more bludgers to Bokuto, the more the chances you have to join the team,” he said.

“Hey!” exclaimed the mentioned one offended.

Konoha giggled and placed the back of the bat over his shoulder.

Yamaguchi smiled sideways although he held his bat with a slight tremor when everyone finally positioned themselves to prepare to play a small game between them so they could demonstrate their skills and way of flying. He was nervous, but he also had confidence. He was used to playing with Lev and Koganegawa, he had been practicing together with Tsukishima during the summer and didn’t want the opportunity to face him officially to slip out of his hands, and although he could be very noisy and too energetic, Bokuto only inspired anyone to want to play in a certain way even if it was a practice match between them. Not to mention, that in addition, everyone in the Hufflepuff team had been kind to them since they entered the Quidditch field.

Yamaguchi knew that he wasn’t the best beater, but he smiled anyway.

He was ready to show that he wanted to be part of the Hufflepuff team. 

* * *

For the first and only time in his life, Kageyama wished he was a Hufflepuff.

While he was walking down the corridor to go to the detention he earned for having flown over a great height mounted on his broom, he was aware that that afternoon the try-outs to join the team of that house were held, so he wished to be a Hufflepuff only to imagine himself inside the Quidditch field doing the try-outs instead of going to one of the laboratories he would have to organize, until his thoughts stopped tormenting him because he was returned to reality when he heard voices he recognized immediately, which tightened his body immediately.

"And I thought I was having a good day," Kindaichi said, looking at him.

Kunimi simply looked at the boy next to him when he heard him speak.

Kageyama remained more serious than he was used to.

“I heard that you flew recently, who did you challenge this time?” The Slytherin added.

The Gryffindor opened his mouth to answer but a third voice resounded.

“Hey!” Suddenly and orange head followed by a small body peeked through the door that was between them “You're late!” Hinata added watching Kageyama, not being aware of the atmosphere of tension that with his sudden appearance he managed to cut immediately.

“I'm not late, I'm here!” The black-haired boy exclaimed, completely forgetting about the present duo, because even though those always managed to get him on his nerves, he discovered that the boy in his own house managed to raise the temperature in his head more efficiently and quickly.

“Then come!” Hinata said before diving back into the lab.

Kageyama snorted and entered the place, although he was able to hear with utmost perfection the words Kindaichi uttered.

“See you later, King.”

The black-haired boy looked at the floor of the lab with a frown and with his hands clenched into fists feeling his blood begin to boil from the anger he felt.

“Do you know them?” He suddenly heard.

He raised his head to see Hinata carrying a stack of books from one of the desks to the locker to be stored there. There was much to do, materials to sort and store, jars of different colors and substances to deal with carefully while they were resting on shelves, place chairs in an orderly manner, and not hesitate to sweep the floor as well as probably clean the windows. Kageyama felt Hinata's gaze on him as he went to the jars with the intention of resting them on the shelves since the orange-haired one couldn’t do it because of his height, but he remained still.

Of course he knew them.

Kindaichi and Kunimi had been part of the team to which he had also belonged when they formed a team with other kids from their neighborhood to play Quidditch while they didn’t have classes at Hogwarts, just to show Kageyama that maybe that hadn’t been a good idea because he only won bad memories and terrible moments of the experience that until now continued to haunt him when his security was being trampled.

“You really don’t like to talk, don’t you?”

Kageyama took a small leap when he heard that excited and vivid voice closer than he thought, and turned his head to his side to spot Hinata ordering the jars according to the color of the substance within them. The black-haired boy looked at him confused, since he couldn’t understand why he spoke to him when they were in the same place because they fought and developed a confrontation in the air that led them to not realize how high they did it.

“Yes, we were in the same team,” he answered.

"I shared some classes with them," Hinata said, just because.

Kageyama didn’t say a word, and began to accept the bottles that Hinata began to give him to leave them on the shelves next to them, as well as continued to look at him out of the corner of his eye because although he wouldn’t say it out loud, he was grateful that he appeared to interrupt the moment with Kindaichi and Kunimi, with whom he always avoided crossing paths whenever he could.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is focused on several ships, and as some chapters just talk about some, even I forgot what happened in previous chapters, so before each chapter I'll remind what happened earlier in the story with the characters that appear so this doesn't becomes a mess. 
> 
> Previously Ennoshita had a conversation with Akaashi where he tried to confess him that he likes Tanaka, and he is kind of ignoring Tanaka for the same reason. Kenma escapes from Kuroo, and Hinata and Kageyama shared detention. Kuroo talked with Daishou about the fact that Yahaba and Futakuchi don't listen to him, and the try-outs for the quidditch teams already started.

Akaashi took place next to Ennoshita.

The second one having been in the Great Hall a long time ago, taking advantage of the fact there weren't many people since being Saturday morning, some preferred to continue sleeping or took a few hours to study in the library, while he chose to have breakfast in silence and with no one around him.

Until his roommate arrived.

“Not hungry?” Akaashi asked him when he noticed that his plate was still full.

Ennoshita looked reluctantly at the mountain of food in front of him. "Not really," he answered.

Akaashi looked at him askance.

"We couldn’t continue the conversation the other day," he said.

Before they could continue talking about what was happening to them, Kenma returned determined to leave his electronic device so that there was no option that Peeves would bother him again and therefore managed to break his most precious object. And it wasn’t that Ennoshita distrusted Kenma or wanted him to be away from him and not tell him anything, but it was already costing him enough with Akaashi, so he couldn’t chat with two people at once.

Ennoshita let out a sigh when he heard him.

"I think I tried to confess something and ended up failing miserably," he voiced.

"You don’t have to say it out loud to let me know," Akaashi said “I know you, Ennoshita.”

The aforementioned observed him upon hearing his words.

What if his roommate knew what was happening to him even better than himself?

“Can you help me? I'm confused," he asked him.

Akaashi didn’t hesitate to nod. And although he was about to speak, both friends stopped looking at each other when they recognized the boy who appeared and was standing in front of them, but who even if he was in their same house, never crossed words with them.

"Good morning," he said, bowing “The prefect sent me with you. He said you belong to the Quidditch team," he added.

Akaashi rolled his eyes as soon as he heard him, not because his presence bothered him, but because he knew what the one sitting next to him would do before he really did. Ennoshita seemed to forget about what kept him without appetite, and rested his forearm on the shoulder of the one sitting next to him and then smiled proudly.

“You must consider yourself lucky then! You're talking with nothing more and nothing less than the team captain," he stated as the one in front of them look at him, though he averted his gaze to Akaashi once Ennoshita pointed to him clearly “And the vice-captain, of course," he added, referring to himself.

"I'm Kunimi Akira, and I'd like to join the team," he said, bowing again when he heard who he was in front of.

"To join, we must first see how you play," Ennoshita articulated.

Akaashi removed the boy's arm from beside him.

"What he means is that you're welcome to come to the try-outs today," he said.

For a few seconds, Kunimi remained doubtful as he watched them both, wondering if the one who had just spoken was the captain or the one sitting next to him had only played a joke on him, since his personality seemed to be more direct. However, he only nodded before leaving them alone again.

"No one will want to join the team with you in it," Akaashi mentioned.

“Akaashi, you break my poor heart in two!”

Ennoshita spoke dramatically and brought both hands to the center of his chest as if his friend had really hurt him with his words.

“Stop strutting and go wake up Kenma. I know he likes to sleep but we can’t let him miss the first practice," Akaashi stated.

“At your orders, captain!”

The head of the Ravenclaw quidditch team let out a sigh when he saw his friend hold his hand straight up against his forehead as if he agreed to limit an order from the army itself.

And half an hour later, a sleeping and newly raised Kenma, appeared in the Great Hall being slightly pushed by Ennoshita, who smiled broadly after having enjoyed waking him even though the one with dyed hair had struck him with his eyes since he preferred to sleep instead of having to get up because the Ravenclaw practice would take place that day.

“Why don’t we bother him?” Yahaba inquired.

Both he and Futakuchi were also in the Great Hall, sitting at the table of their respective house and interjecting their eyes among those who thought it would be fun to disturb to start the day and the weekend with joy.

“Why not him?”

Yahaba stopped concentrating on Kenma when Futakuchi pointed to another belonging to Ravenclaw who was reading while having breakfast.

"Don’t bother him," Kindaichi determined after listening them.

He was aware that the pair of friends that remained with him were known for annoying people from other houses that weren't from Slytherin, who were a year older than him, and that, moreover, no one used to try to stop them unless they were of the last year because they always managed to get away with it. However, not for being younger than them and belonging to the same house, Kindaichi would let them to bother Kunimi.

And since he believed that his words wouldn’t stop them, he didn’t hesitate to get up to go to his best friend and sit in front of him, making Kunimi stop concentrating on his book and talk about the practice of his house that would take place later.

“Tch.”

“Who does he think he is?” Yahaba inquired.

“He thinks he is superior because Iwaizumi would jump in his defense,”

Both rolled their eyes, annoyed. And then Yahaba nudged him.

“Do we stick to the main plan?” He said nodding at Kenma.

Futakuchi gave him a pious smile in response.

They both got up, but remained still when Daishou and Kuroo sat in front of them.

“And why don’t you better let others have breakfast in peace?” the first of them expressed.

The two youngers sat down again when they heard him.

The seventh-year continued to observe them to make sure they wouldn’t do anything.

Both Futakuchi and Yahaba became offended and chose to continue looking angry after resting their elbows on the table and their cheeks on the palms of their hands to ignore them and start talking among themselves. Without realizing that Kuroo glanced at Daishou to give him a grateful smile, since he knew that if he had spoken, he had tripled the desire of the two minors to bother Kenma, whom he didn’t hesitate to look for a few seconds when he turned around. 

* * *

 

Hinata and Kageyama remained silent watching each other seriously once they arrived at the Quidditch pitch at the same time. They were within inches of finally fulfilling their desire to enter the school stadium. However, both left those anxieties aside and replaced them with confusion when they crossed paths.

“What are you doing here?” The orange-haired boy asked him, like it wasn’t something obvious.

“What are you doing here?”

Both weren't surprised to see themselves with brooms in their hands and ready to go from one side to another mounted on them, but because there was still an hour and a half to start the practice.

“I want to be the first to enter,” Hinata confessed.

Kageyama narrowed his eyes.

He wanted the same.

"I also want to be the first to enter," he said.

And with those words, he made a new battle begin between them.

The two began to fight saying that they would be the first of their year to enter the field of quidditch they were so eager to meet, even though Kageyama had done the try-outs the previous year, and they only stopped pushing each other clumsily and giving each other words of denial when they heard someone laughing near them.

They recognized both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

“And now why are you two fighting?” The blond asked them.

The two belonging to Gryffindor seemed to forget their enmity to focus their hatred on him.

“Tsukki, I think they were fighting to see who entered first,” Yamaguchi covered his mouth with his hand to avoid laughing.

The only one belonging to the house of Ravenclaw laughed again.

“What are you laughing at? Of course we will be the first ones to enter!” Hinata said “I'll be the first fifht-year to enter," he corrected himself.

Yamaguchi couldn’t help but laughed as much as Tsukishima.

He really enjoyed being with Hinata, but it really surprised him how distracted he could be.

"You are so focused fighting each other that you ignore everything around you," the blond began to say, earning the attention of the two Gryffindors “Yamaguchi had Hufflepuff's practice on Wednesday, so he was the first to enter. And besides, I don’t know what you're doing here if Ravenclaw has booked the field for today's practice, not Gryffindor. Not to mention, that then, I will enter before you.”

Both Hinata and Kageyama remained stunned.

The black-haired one face palmed after realizing he was right while Hinata couldn’t believe everyone was being able to be on the quidditch field except for him.

And an hour later after the fifth-year duo of Gryffindor fell into the reality that they wouldn’t be the first of their year to enter the stadium, the Quidditch field was again occupied, although on that occasion, like Tsukishima told them, by those belonging to the house of Ravenclaw.

Yamaguchi remained in the stands as well as Kindaichi, and Kinoshita and Narita as well, since each one decided to see the Ravenclaw practice to be able to see a particular member of that house. The younger ones wanted to see their best friends, while the two elders who belonged to Gryffindor always liked to see how Ennoshita played, and also because they were great friends of him after sharing most of their classes and get along.

Two seventh-year students also decided to observe the practice.

Bokuto and Kuroo were present. And although the first begged the second to accompany him because he wanted to see Akaashi, it wasn’t necessary for the two-colored-haired one to insist too much for the Slytherin member to agree to be with him, since it was a training for Ravenclaw and he was in the strands, so Kenma wouldn’t run from him or disappear from his sight as he always did whenever he was around.

Akaashi and Ennoshita were the ones to welcome the youngers who wanted to join the Quidditch team of their house, not only because they were the captain and vice-captain of the team, but because it seemed that the rest of the players that were already in the team weren’t the most talkative people. 

Although Tsukishima and Kunimi either.

“You. We know who he is, but we don’t know who you are," Ennoshita expressed, pointing to Tsukishima and referring to Kunimi, who previously appeared before them in the Great Hall.

“Tsukishima Kei,” the fifth-year said with no emotion and along with a small bow.

Something was activated in Kenma's brain.

“Are you Tsukishima Akiteru’s brother?" He asked him.

The blond fifth-year seemed more serious than normal after hearing the name of his brother, but he nodded and Kenma just watched the others present. And while Akaashi didn’t consider that information important, he decided to do a little research after, because if Kenma decided to talk about it, then it was probably a detail he didn’t want to miss. But being focus on the present, he introduced himself as he introduced the rest of the players, and continued talking, until he was interrupted.

“That's right, Akaashi! With more enthusiasm, don’t forget that you are the captain now!”

All those who were in the field as well as in the stands, directed their eyes towards Bokuto, whose words had echoed all over the place. Kuroo stuck himself in the forehead, but then swallowed when he noticed that only one person was watching him instead of the one by his side.

Kenma.

But the sixth-year returned to fix his eyes on the lawn when Kuroo crossed glances with him.

Akaashi only remained silent while Bokuto raised both thumbs indicating that everything was fine, and returned to focus on the people close to him."As I was about to say, I'm the captain," he stated “Ennoshita is the vice-captain,” The black-haired boy besides him smiled enthusiastically at the sound of his name and position “Fortunately we have very good players, so we hope you give the best of you if you want to be part of the team,”

Both Ennoshita and Kenma, as well as Suna, Sakusa and Fukunaga, remained stupefied when they heard the words that the new captain of their team mentioned. Akaashi wasn’t known to give compliments to all the people he knew, so that simple prayer was the necessary impulse for the five to feel that they should show him that he would never have the opportunity to say otherwise, and that he would be proud to be called the new captain of the Ravenclaw team.

Ennoshita punched Akaashi's arm when the others complied with the orders he gave, and the team captain rubbed that area of his body.

“What was that for?”

"For nothing, Captain, I just think you're the best captain we could ever have, Captain," Ennoshita answered, winking at him in an exaggerated way.

"Stop calling me captain," Akaashi said without understanding.

Kunimi expressed that he wanted to be a guardian, so he placed himself in front of the three hoops on the left side, while Tsukishima, who wanted to be a beater, took one of the bats that Akaashi handed him before he rose on his broom and the sixth-year remained with his feet on the lawn, unlike the others, who were already on their brooms at a great height.

Ennoshita stopped keeping his concentration on the hoops by which he would pass the quaffle, when he spotted a familiar face on the strands. He felt that everything in his body stopped working when Tanaka's eyes fixed on him, but Ennoshita raised an eyebrow and turned around to realize that Kiyoko was behind him, sitting in the stands of the other side. He clutched his hands even more to the broom after concluding that Tanaka wasn’t looking at him, but at her, and because he was deep in thought, he didn’t concentrate on the practice game that just started, so Sakusa was the first to take the quaffle.

Quickly, Akaashi climbed on his broom and caught up with them after letting the balls mark their own paths. The captain took advantage of the fact that the action started on the other side of the field to ask Suna for his bat, and he returned it to him after preventing a bludger from hitting Ennoshita’s face, who finally reacted once he saw the bat and the arm of his friend very close to his face.

Akaashi didn’t scold him for being deconcentrated. He just looked at him after having looked around first.

“I know what it is that bothers you. And it's not the fact that you like Tanaka," he stated.

Ennoshita looked at him surprised, because he thought he would tell him that he wasn't fulfilling his role as vice-captain and player of the team, not that he began to talk about the subject that they always seemed to have to postpone because someone appeared to interrupt them.

He felt the weight on his shoulders grow even more when he heard Akaashi say what he truly felt. He had found out right. He didn’t need to say it out loud so that Akaashi knew why he acted the way he did.

“What is it then?”

His roommate previously claimed that he would help him get rid of the confusion, but instead of answering, Akaashi pointed his head towards Kiyoko.

The seventh-year girl witnessed the practices and games that Ravenclaw held since her fourth year, and after those who were a year older than her graduated, and the team remained without seventh-year people who were seriously interested in getting their house won the Quidditch Cup, she decided to subtract close to the team to ensure that the sixth-years wouldn’t surrender or leave Ravenclaw adrift, so it could be said that Kiyoko played the same role as Suga in Slytherin. Neither of them was on brooms like everyone else, but they knew what their strengths and weaknesses were.

In addition, Kiyoko was popular not only for having a great intelligence and being one of the top in her class, but for her enviable beauty too. So since she begun to devote her time to the Quidditch team, and while most students found it entertaining to watch the games of that sport, many more began to attend matches even if she didn’t play. And her name wasn't something that remained alien to Gryffindor and the other houses, since it was well known and not a secret that several were behind her all the time, even Yamamoto, Nishinoya and Tanaka having further strengthened the friendship between them after realizing that they could be considered the main fans of her.

And Akaashi was right.

Ennoshita hated that Tanaka talked about her all the time, that the only person whose characteristics he professed when he met Yamamoto and Nishinoya were hers. He hated that he didn’t seem to find another topic of conversation other than her, and that he didn’t hesitate to express what he felt whenever she was around. Always her. Everything revolved around her.

She.

She represented the reality he had to face.

Tanaka didn’t correspond to his feelings, and probably never would.

Ennoshita felt the annoyance spread throughout his body, and jealousy made disappear that pleasant smile that he held at the beginning of the practice. He frowned, and his gaze was as severe as determined. Akaashi glimpsed the firmness in those dark brown eyes, and before he could realize, Ennoshita stopped being at his side to quickly approach Sakusa, who he wouldn't let continue to consider himself the best player of the team they formed for that practice, whose members managed to keep going without the presence of the captain and vice-captain.

However, not everyone thought that was a good thing.

“Akaashi, you can’t get distracted during practice!” Bokuto shouted.

After receiving a pass from Sakusa, Ennoshita managed to get his first point regardless of whether Kunimi was defending the hoops, and he looked at the Hufflepuff that had spoken, and then observed the captain of his team.

“You have to be a good captain, they all count on you!” Bokuto added.

Ennoshita continued with his eyes on Akaashi, who despite having always managed to realize what he felt even if he didn’t show it, at that moment was impossible to decipher because of the seriousness of his face.

Kuroo didn’t hesitate to hit his friend on the head, as he didn’t think his prayers were adequate to attract the attention of the Ravenclaw captain in a good way. Bokuto rubbed his head as he complained because he didn’t understand what the blow was due to, and the one belonging to Slytherin glared at him before returning his eyes to Kenma, whom he found hard to find after he was flying just as fast that the snitch he was trying to catch.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but why no one talks about Yahaba x Kawanishi? Imagine if Yahaba and Shirabu were enemies, worse than Oikawa and Ushijima. Like, enemies for real, they don't stan each other because of the previous relationship between their captains and they are too stubborn to change that because it has always been Aoba Johsai vs Shiratorizawa even though Seijoh has Karasuno as a rival now. Imagine Yahaba suddenly realizing this tall and quiet boy with dark ginger hair that is always the one calming down Shirabu before the sass between the two of them gets worse. And then imagine Kawanishi understanding this pretty captain/setter that only defends his school and the reputation of his team and teammates. Amazing. Stunning. 
> 
> Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

The Gryffindor try-outs finally arrived.

Daichi and Yaku exchanged glances with each other.

Hinata and Inuoka smiled widely as they looked around wondering, trying to suppress the excitement that took their bodies from head to toe because finally the day they had waited so long to come, arrived; and like some of their same year, they would be able to say that they were in the quidditch field. They had barely been able to sleep and didn’t pay any attention in class, gaining scolding from the teachers though fortunately not serious enough to have points taken away. And beside them, Kageyama remained quiet and serious, not being the first time he was in that situation.

The whole team was already assembled as well as the others who wanted to try on.

Nishinoya, Yamamoto and Tanaka were already mounted on their brooms, because although they were already part of the team, they were still fans of being in the air instead of with their feet on the ground, so they didn’t hesitate to climb their brooms and barely touched the grass of the Quidditch pitch. They watched the rest from above because Daichi didn’t manage to prevent them from doing so after already giving up with the sixth-year trio. And unlike them, Kinoshita and Narita stayed close to Daichi while he introduced himself as the captain, making Yaku smile animated at being mentioned as the vice-captain of the same team. They were the only seventh-years present, and they planned to keep the practices in order even if they were aware of the sixth-year trio that was flying over them, and of the others present around them.

Especially two of them.

Although at that moment they remained silent because Daichi spoke, since they had entered the stadium, Hinata and Kageyama didn’t stop fighting for anything insignificant and meaningless, from who stepped on the grass first, who showed up first, or who would be accepted more quickly, and probably would have been the fastest to be mounted on their brooms if the trio of sixth-year hadn’t won them in doing so.

Yaku looked at Daichi not only because he was waiting for him to give some indication of what they would do, but because the fifth-year with orange hair that until now didn’t stop interspersing his gaze between the environment around him and the people next to him, decided to rest his eyes on him once he saw him. And once Daichi stated that everyone assumed the positions that had already been said so that the new ones could demonstrate what they were made of while they would check their performance, Yaku remained quiet when Hinata took the opportunity to approach him.

“How tall are you?” Hinata asked without hesitation.

Immediately a silence reigned in the quidditch field.

All those who were part of the official team fixed their eyes on the vice-captain of the same, who although was known because he didn’t have a great stature, was also known for the reactions he held when someone mocked him with the same subject, and for the same reason everyone was surprised when Yaku did nothing but let out a funny giggle when he heard him, because even if he hadn’t hesitated to kick him in any part of his body in case it had been someone else, the one in front of him didn’t seem to have mentioned those words with malicious intent, not to mention, that in addition, he turned out to be shorter than him.

“1, 65 cm,” he answered smiling “He's 1.59 cm,” Yaku didn’t doubt to add pointing to Nishinoya.

Hinata's bright eyes went to the one who was measuring less than him by four centimeters, proving to be the first person he knew who was shorter than him, and although the one with black hair and a blond lock narrowed his after noticing the huge smile on his face, Hinata didn’t seem to notice that gesture while Yamamoto and Tanaka began to laugh until they were hit in the head with the bat that Daichi was holding.

However, the orange-haired one quickly returned his attention to his broom.

Yaku stopped being by his side after braking in front of one of the trio of hoops that he had to protect while Nishinoya was defending the others, and after taking a look at Inuoka who was talking with Kinoshita and Narita, Hinata remained motionless when he noticed those at his side after having gain height with his broom like the others.

The seventh-year Gryffindor's guardian smiled when Daichi rested his eyes on him.

"You'll play together," Daichi determined once he turned his attention back to the players on their brooms in front of him.

Kageyama and Hinata turned their heads to see each other and watched in horror. Since they had crossed words for the first time, they promised to defeat each other no matter they belonged to the same house, they sworn that they would beat  the other and that in the end, only one of them would be the fastest. They planned to face each other to prove that they shouldn’t be underestimated, so when the captain of the team they wanted to belong to, said that they would play side by side instead of facing each other, they remained totally stupefied.

Meanwhile Daichi, and Yaku from where he was, smiled the same way.

They saw the two fifth-year students hold that race that led them to fly over near the tower where they all slept after belonging to the same house, and although they knew Kageyama and what he was capable of because they saw him perform the try-outs the year before to join the team, they hadn’t put their attention on Hinata until that moment, until they saw him fly at that speed without appearing worried about the great height he was at and with only one goal in mind: be quick and be able to reach the one in front of him.

Which, was the tasks that chasers had to perform during games.

So the captain and the vice-captain didn’t hesitate to place them on the same team.

“Tanaka, you'll be with them,” was the last thing Daichi added.

The aforementioned approached the two who seemed to observe him as if he was the salvation, and as soon as the captain blew his whistle and then put it under his shirt, everyone started moving. To be matched, Yamamoto was also placed as a beater on their team while Daichi was on the other side with Narita and two fourth-years who would face each other as chasers against the fifth-year duo and Tanaka, while Nishinoya and Yaku would watch the hoops, another fourth-year duo would be the other two beaters of the practice match, and Kinoshita would observe them to evaluate errors and advantages at the same time that the others continued exercising and Inuoka was already behind the snitch to check his speed.

Kindaichi and Kunimi, who were in the strands, exchanged glances.

Narita took advantage of the surprise that still invaded the faces of the fifth-year duo to be the first to take the quaffle and only be followed by Tanaka, until both Kageyama and Hinata understood that they wouldn’t be able to join the team if they continued to focus on each other and in the fact that they should not face each other but play together, and they quickly left after the search for the other chaser to start the game.

Which, turned out to be a disaster.

The fifth-year duo in the stands decided to attend the first practices of Gryffindor because they wanted to be present if the results turned out to be the same as last year, given that they didn’t hesitate to join the nickname it had been given to Kageyama, after also having the opportunity to play with him and therefore have the experience of flying at his side, so they could assure that "King" was the right nickname for him.

Kageyama loved Quidditch, but he didn’t realize that sometimes that fascination led him astray, although the previous year he understood that this was the case when, despite being considered a good player and having developed a good effort, he wasn’t been accepted in the official team of his house because he did nothing but express orders or say things badly during the practice match they had, achieving that instead of being accepted as the only fourth-year student, a nickname soon spread through the halls of the castle.

And although Daichi and Yaku hoped that one year would be enough time for a person to change, they regretted the decision they had made when instead of a nice game of practice between them and those who wanted to apply to enter the team, the practice ended up being a game in which Tanaka and Hinata were barely able to touch the quaffle, in which the fourth-year duo preferred to make sure that they wouldn’t be pulled from their brooms instead of trying to take the ball from Kageyama, in which Narita didn’t stop grimacing, and in which Nishinoya was able to listen very carefully to most of the screams that Kageyama had let escape because near his hoops was where most of the passes he had started to do, ended up in the quaffle itself falling down because Hinata or Tanaka weren't fast enough to reach it, or rather, he patient enough to ask them if they needed him to be slower.

And his comments finally began to spread to more people.

Yamamoto was the first to receive one of those when he was placed close to him to prevent a bludger hit him, which instead of a thank you, concluded with Kageyama telling him that he could prevent those balls from hitting him without interrupting his way. And the second one was Inuoka, who chasing the snitch, crossed in the middle of his direction only to momentarily stop chasing the small golden ball because Kageyama started yelling at him, until he realized that he would waste time listening to him and that he didn’t seek to follow the fight after answering him, so he resumed his pursuit.

And finally the captain and the vice-captain decided to interrupt when they realized that for the moment, the idea they had had wouldn't give the results they had expected.

The quaffle sent by Kageyama only brushed Hinata's fingers instead of catching it with his entire hand, and when Narita caught it before it touched the grass, Daichi told him not to throw it up again and to keep the same after deciding to cut the game that in the end wasn't helping anyone. Yaku barely participated, the fourth-year quartet seemed deeply envious of their companions who had exercised with Kinoshita, Nishinoya's attempts to protect the loops were frustrated, Tanaka and Hinata barely touched the quaffle, and only Narita, Yamamoto and the captain moved as they should, which didn’t matter because they were already part of the team and what they needed was to see the performance of those who didn’t.

“You're slow, I told you!” Kageyama expressed irritated “If you'd moved more stooped, you could have caught that pass!”

Nobody understood how it was that Hinata still hadn’t answered him, because although the black-haired one had been screaming at him since the match started, he didn’t return the word on any occasion, but before he decided to do so, Daichi blew the whistle attracting everyone's attention.

On the strands, the fifth-year duo had observed the whole situation.

"Still a King," Kindaichi whispered, and Kunimi rested his gaze on him when he heard him.

Tanaka let out a snort at Hinata's emotionless expression, since he had felt in the same way throughout the match after not being able to catch most of Kageyama's passes, and even before the practice began, Daichi asked him, Nishinoya and Yamamoto, not to say a word about last year's try-outs in which they had also been present to appreciate Kageyama's attitude and his way of dealing with people, but after knowing perfectly the frustration with which Hinata was carrying on his shoulders, he didn’t hesitate to speak for him.

"This is training," he began to say, making the others who had been part of the practice match watch him because several had many things to say but didn't because of the request made by Daichi “Not a real match, can you relax a little?” He added being as respectful as he could only because of the consideration and admiration he felt for who was the captain of his team.

Relax?

Kageyama didn’t like losing in any way.

And neither to be told that he should relax when all he wanted was to win.

He didn’t want to relax, he didn’t want to play without wanting to win. He wanted others to play like him.

"We're supposed to train and then win games, not lose them because the moves are slow," Kageyama said without understanding his words at all.

His irritation didn’t allow him to realize that the others around him were looking for the same thing as him, to enjoy quidditch and to find themselves mounted on their brooms, being able to feel the adrenaline in their bodies and the wind in their faces. His way of stating his words didn’t show that he wanted others to improve so that they could win, since that was what he really wanted, but he sought to insult anyone who didn’t meet his expectations.

“Win games? Who told you that you have joined the team?”

Kageyama swallowed deeply at those words.

He didn’t even want to think about being rejected a second time.

Suddenly memories of the previous year hit him.

The olders of the team telling him that his attitude was similar to that of a tyrant and that they didn’t want anyone to act like a king in the team they belonged to, nobody from the minor courses defending him and others watching him, all that happening again. Yamamoto and Nishinoya watched him in the same way that Tanaka did, and although Daichi opened his mouth, Kageyama didn’t give him the opportunity to tell him that he didn’t managed to join the team because he didn’t hesitate to take advantage of his great speed to descend and quickly get off his broom to leave the Quidditch field although he heard that they mentioned his name.

Hinata remained stunned.

And he was so focused on the one who had just left, that he didn’t even ask himself if he had joined the team, because after all, nobody was able to stand out in the practice match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daichi's Gryffindor's Captain, Bokuto's Hufflepuff's Captain, and Akaashi's Ravenclaw's Captain. What about Slytherin?


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired of not being able to choose what to write, so if you want, you can comment what you rather want to find to read between this options I have paused because I suck. Camp Rock AU (all ships but mainly bokuaka, kyouhaba, and semishirakawa), Business/Rich People (second gen captains), Fantasy AU (all ships but mainly kyouhaba), Royal AU (kawayaha/kyouhaba), futayaha story, or kawayaha story.
> 
> Yeah, I'm obsessed with Yahaba.
> 
> Btw, in this story, the Kitagawa Daiichi troup played along together for the last three years.

Iwaizumi remained with an arched eyebrow and crossed arms behind Oikawa.

"Don’t look at me like that, Iwa-chan," the second one said.

Oikawa didn’t need to concentrate on his best friend to know that he was looking at him with his severe green eyes, although he didn’t realize that the same look had descended to his knee.

“I told you not to overdo the training.”

After hearing those words, Oikawa rolled his eyes and turned around, making Iwaizumi rest his eyes on him again to watch him indignantly because the boy with brown hair kept most of his face covered with what appeared to be a green paste.

“It doesn’t hurt, Iwa-chan, can you go to sleep now?” He asked, waving his hands to indicate that he could leave him alone “You're making me nervous.”

“You should be nervous. I'm mad at you and I want you to know it.”

“You are always mad at me, Iwa-chan. It's not a surprise.”

Iwaizumi didn’t hesitate to approach him to give him a blow on the head, and smiled sideways when he heard a scream escape Oikawa's lips who quickly turned to look in the mirror and check that no lock of his hair had been stained with what he considered to be a facial mask that some nights he used to continue to make his skin soft and free of any imperfection.

But the smile on Iwaizumi's face disappeared immediately.

He was really upset to learn that Oikawa continued training without paying attention to him and unable to wait for the Slytherin practices to begin, resulting in his knee paying the consequences after not allowing his body to rest enough. And he wasn’t worried about him just because he liked him, because they were best friends or were on the same team, but because Iwaizumi knew him perfectly, and knew that an injury to his knee wouldn’t stop him from continuing to give his all in workouts that didn’t have to be done to the maximum.

“Oikawa, I swear to you that if this is because you are now-

"That's not why, Iwa-chan," he assured him, interrupting him.

Iwaizumi glared at him and decided to leave because the brown-haired boy seemed more interested in taking care of his skin than in listening to his own words, but Oikawa only spent a few minutes alone in the bathroom while continuing to adjust the green mask on his face, because after a few seconds, he heard a laugh that made him roll his eyes because he knew exactly who it belonged to.

“Are you going to laugh every time you see me like this?” Oikawa asked.

"Of course," Kuroo replied, appearing at his side with his typical grin.

“I don’t laugh at you even if you look ridiculous when you do it,”

“Me? Ridiculous? Have you seen yourself in the mirror?”

"Every day, every hour," Oikawa answered, finally leaving his face in peace.

He turned to rest part of his butt on the sink counter as Kuroo did, and like they both usually did when they decided to wear the same mask and therefore chatted or teased each other while waiting for it to dry for then look in the mirror and see that they continued to be the envy of many as well as the most wanted of Slytherin.

"You only do the mask without me when you're stressed," Kuroo began to say totally serious after a few seconds had passed in silence “I don’t like that," he added, nodding towards the other one's knee that was wrapped in thick white gauze, making Oikawa momentarily look down at it.

"Don’t be like Iwa-chan," he said.

"You and I know I could never be like him," Kuroo whispered in his ear along with a daring smile showing that he was capable of being a serious person as well as a playful one in a matter of seconds, and Oikawa just looked at him with an indecipherable smile before rolling his eyes.

“Nervous for tomorrow?” He asked him.

Kuroo remained serious again and crossed his arms after hearing him.

“Are you?”

“I asked first.”

“Maybe,”

“Maybe me too.”

The two friends smiled when they listened to each other, and although they didn’t show it to each other, they appreciated that the one in front of him continued acting in the same way to which they were accustomed without letting any decision get in the way of the great and entertaining friendship they had developed between them.

* * *

 

"Maybe we need someone like you in our team, Suga," Yaku said.

“Like me?” The gray-haired one asked confused when he heard his words.

It turned out that Daichi's shyness about his beloved Slytherin was worse than he could admit, because just as they both knew Kuroo, Yaku was another person with whom they both had a great friendship. Gryffindor's guardian knew Suga as well as Daichi, they were equally close, shared a great friendship, and shared most of their classes as well as possessing similar personalities, which only made Daichi's situation even worse because with more than one friend in common with Suga, he should be able to talk to him like any other could do and not stay blank as he used to. Multiple times he had tried to join the conversations between Yaku and Suga, only to end up turning around before thinking he would be ridiculed.

The courage was evident in Daichi, except when it came to Suga.

“Someone who knows us all well, and knows how to handle situations that others don’t,” Yaku specified.

He already told his classmate how badly it had turned out to be the first quidditch training for his team, since since Kageyama left the field, it had taken a long time to get Yamamoto, Tanaka and Nishinoya back to the same level of always, and to make Hinata stop looking worried and paying attention, while the others tried to erase the tension that Kageyama's attitude had generated. Later Daichi looked for Kageyama to speak with him, but in spite of belonging to the same house, he wasn’t able to find him, and Yaku didn't think it was a coincidence.

"You're talking about yourself, Yaku," Suga assured him with a smile, making the boy seated in front of him on the table that belonged to the colors scarlet and gold, curved his mouth too.

It wasn’t strange that the two of them spent time together outside of class as well.

“I couldn’t avoid anything during the try-outs,”

“Don't think you are the only team with problems. It's always difficult to accept new personalities and continue with the same atmosphere as always," the gray-haired one stated “Besides, I can assure you that Slytherin's problems will probably outweigh Gryffindor's today," he added, seeming to have a lost look.

“What do you mean?” Yaku asked confused.

"While your problem is to get your original team yo accept new teammates, mine is to get my own team to get along with each other,"

Yaku looked at him disoriented, wondering what he meant by those words because he didn’t remember ever having sighted any fight involving two students belonging to the Slytherin Quidditch team, but Suga's expressionless look and face of concern were enough for him to wondered if it was possible that there had been some fight or discussion of which he wasn’t aware after belonging to another house, exactly, to which Slytherin considered its rival.

* * *

Last year it became clear that the seventh-year ones decided to take control not only of the Gryffindor quidditch team, but also the Slytherin’s one, which was the only reason why Kindaichi didn’t shown up to do the try-outs, because although both Oikawa and Iwaizumi told him he was a great player, they also assured him that he would be rejected if he did the try-outs not because he wasn't enough as a player, but because the older ones became obsessed with the idea that only people of the last courses could belong to the team.

But time went on, and people graduated, and therefore, Kindaichi avoided holding a big smile on his face while he felt more than ready to get on the broom he was holding with his hand, after waiting to receive some kind of instruction at the same time he could feel the excitement go through his body, because he finally was able to show up to do the try-outs to introduce himself to the quidditch team of his house. Which not only meant that he would be part of the official Slytherin team if he entered, but he would also play with those two people with whom he had already played after being part of the same team, whom he admired as both players and great people, knowing that they were probably the reason why the Sorting Hat had placed him in Slytherin when his turn to be sorted arrived.

From the strands, Kunimi looked at him amused although his face didn’t express it.

He had also spent the last three years playing along with the one who he was still watching at that moment, with Kageyama, and with the two who were two years older than them, and who despite stopped playing with them because after being olders they had been moved to another category in the team they had formed for three years outside the castle, at Hogwarts they continued to show that they were there for them in case they wanted to chat, practice quidditch, or need help with studies. The five had belonged to the same team, and unlike Kageyama, he and Kindaichi continued to get along well and maintain good relationships with Iwaizumi and Oikawa, so it wasn’t surprising that the black-haired one of his same year seemed to want to go to the bathroom after trying not to move too much in his place because the emotion was surpassing him.

However, the two remained serious when they realized that one of the people they admired, wasn’t present while the other approached Kindaichi and the others at that moment. Kindaichi's eyes shone at the thought that Iwaizumi turned out to be the leader of the team after he started talking and gathering them together, but his happiness disappeared as soon as he started talking with Daishou and Suga at his sides.

“The captain and the vice-captain are in the infirmary to check that he has nothing. They'll come back before we can imagine, so don't think we'll rest until they return." It was all he said, and the mood changed from one second to the next.

Daishou seemed tense since they had met in the field while Suga seemed determined to look at the grass with his hazel eyes.

With his words, Iwaizumi made it clear that he wasn’t one of the team leaders that year, and that therefore, Kuroo and Oikawa were in charge of the team, although he didn’t specify what role each one played, which was what everyone wanted to know, since unlike the other houses, whose names of the new captains and vice-captains had been known from the first moment they had been appointed by the captain of the previous team, the matter of the captaincy was a subject dealt with differently in Slytherin. The sixth-years that made up the team didn’t even have the slightest clue about who would be the new team leader, although everyone expected, and assumed, it would be the one whose image they already had in their minds. As well as Kindaichi too, so Iwaizumi and Daishou exchanged glances of surprise after the others present nodded and quickly mounted their brooms to start the practice instead of doing questions about the matter.

Kindaichi's nerves disappeared as soon as he climbed on his broom.

Unlike those of his same year who already showed up to do the try-outs for the teams of their respective houses, he didn’t feel that he should be worried if he couldn’t be part of the team, because although nobody assured him a place and he would do his best to stand out during the exercises, he already knew each of the people who composed the team, not only because they were from the same house, but because at one time or another he had practiced with them during the previous years, although he could assure that he had in favor the fact of having previously been in the same team as Oikawa and Iwaizumi for three years in a row, so he was used to playing with them and couldn’t wait to do it again, although he also wanted to be able to join the team because Kunimi had already been accepted in his team, and in case he was also accepted, even though they would no longer play side by side as they were accustomed, they would have the opportunity to face each other since he was a chaser and Kunimi a guardian, so he really wanted to be able to earn a place in the team, not to mention that in addition, another part of him wanted to face Kageyama too.

They passed the beginning of the practice doing different exercises, throwing the quaffle towards the hoops while those who wanted to be beaters had to try to hit the bludgers that at the same time others had to avoid, while the other trio of hoops was defended by those who sought to be guardians so that those who wanted to be chasers were against them. Iwaizumi was responsible for maintaining order while Suga organized the different activities, until they noticed that some of the applicants began to stop paying attention because they had sighted two figures walking into the field, and although Iwaizumi frowned when he saw the elastic knee brace on Oikawa's left knee once he also laid his eyes on him, he was glad that at least the consequences of his overexertion weren’t serious enough for him to spend time without playing quidditch. The two who arrived continued chatting with each other instead of taking their brooms immediately and joining others, who despite having managed to keep up appearances, were desperate to know who would be the new team leader, so while Kindaichi was one of the first to descend from his broom to approach them, he wasn’t the only one.

But the fifth-year didn’t come down because he wanted to know who the new team leader was, since he was sure that his intuition never failed and therefore whoever he thought was the new team leader would indeed be, so he didn’t hesitate to open his mouth to express the word that escaped from his lips.

“Captain!” He exclaimed more than happy.

He had spent three years of his life playing with two people who possessed great skills and were considered good players, so for him there was no doubt that the one who had previously been his teammate, occupied the role of leader.

Futakuchi and Yahaba collided with each other while the Miya twins laughed at them.

Daishou didn’t blink for several seconds.

Matsukawa and Hanamaki exchanged glances with each other.

Suga felt the tension invade his body.

Iwaizumi hit his forehead with his hand.

And Kindaichi remained totally stupefied when the one in turning around when he heard that someone called him since he occupied that position on the team, was Kuroo, and not Oikawa.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I beared a four-hour-class with a headache and nausea I feel powerful.

Kuroo banged his head against the locker.

He thought that hitting that part of his body would help him to stay calm, but he only made his forehead touch the locker in a violent way for a second time after not feeling the calm return to his body or his mind.

“Angry for something special, Tetsu-chan?” His whole body tensed when he heard that voice and that nickname with which only one person called him that way. All he wanted was for no one to keep him company, but he knew he wasn’t alone “Why do you seem to be puzzled? I wasn’t the only one who noticed that Kindaichi thought I was the new team captain, was I? I thought your ego would take longer to crack.”

“Don't bother me, Oikawa.”

Although Kuroo's voice was stern, the one who decided to keep him company once the first practice of the year for Slytherin ended, simply smiled sideways, completely carefree to see the other one with his forehead resting in the locker along with a clear grimace of annoyance and tiredness in his face.

“Or maybe you seem to be in another world because a certain dyed blond doesn’t leave your thoughts in peace?” Oikawa sang dangerously while approaching him. Kuroo took off his brow from the locker to rest his eyes on him “I know you more than you want, Tetsu-chan. After seven years I assumed that you learned that I observe and drew my conclusions very quickly.”

"Don’t forget why we get along so well," Kuroo determined, looking at him seriously.

Oikawa approached him until he reached his hands slowly to his shoulders in case the black-haired one reacted with speed against him, and although Kuroo' full body tensed when Oikawa's hands rested on his shoulders, he then felt that an extreme calm took hold of him as the brown-haired one slid his hands down his arms.

"I'm glad to hear you accept that we get along," Oikawa said quietly, though there was no one besides them in the locker room.

"Don’t let it go to your head," Kuroo said, turning his head slightly.

The one with brown hair gave him a small smile behind which he was wondering if his housemate had certainly got angry with him for the roles they currently held in the team they both belonged to, since the situation unlinked by Kindaichi made the quidditch practice to be uncomfortable for everyone since he uttered that word and his expression proved that it was he who he thought would turn instead of Kuroo, on whose shoulders his hands rested again.

And behind Kuroo's tense muscles, all the worries surfaced.

Not only he wasn’t able to concentrate during the training because he knew that his new role in the team wasn’t what everyone expected, or because he didn’t know if his imagination played against him along with his nerves or he really felt that some members of the team acted reluctant to him, only making him want the first training to finish instead of not wanting it to end after wanting to continue coordinating. But also because as Oikawa managed to read, the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about Kenma also conditioned him to not act as he knew he could do, since after knowing that he was a captain, he expected the Ravenclaw to be the first one to congratulate him, not the first one to run away to get away from him as he continued to do. He was at a disadvantage no matter how he wanted to see the situation. It was obvious that there were people who didn’t want him to be captain, and Kenma's image didn’t leave his mind. He had been worried since he was told the roles that he and Oikawa would occupy as the new team leaders, because even if he felt proud when he understood that he was the new captain, he couldn’t help but think that no matter how close they all were, one of them still was the preferred one, and he knew it wasn’t him.

The two postponed the decision to express what role each one played in the team unlike the others in the other houses, because from the beginning they knew that although their companions could be the sweetest people, even if no one from the other houses believe it, they could end up holding the worst attitudes ever seen in case the decision of the captaincy didn’t please them. And from the faces they sighted throughout the training, they knew that they couldn’t allow the other one to collapse, that they should rest on each other and not allow the comments of others to separate them. Oikawa and Kuroo knew that once they stopped having each other, trusting blindly and betting without hesitation, then everything would fall apart in seconds.

"As the vice-captain, it's my job to be the bridge between you and the team," the one with brown hair began to say once he moved a few inches away from him to allow him to turn around and stay facinf each other “I have to worry about you and the team, so for the moment, leave the problems to me and take the time I give you so you can continue thinking about your beloved boy more calmly.”

The two remained silent, observing each other.

As soon as an uncertainty interrupted their eye contact, as soon as a doubt escaped or an error was committed by one of them, everything around them would be destroyed and their personalities so equal but yet so different would end up colliding with each other. So as the new captain and vice-captain of the team, they only had the option of thinking that dishonesty and lies could never come between them.

* * *

"Everyone kept talking about the training," Iwaizumi said.

Having become accustomed to leaving his own room to allow Matsukawa and Hanamaki, in whose actions he didn’t want to think, he was again in the Slytherin common room where he could perceive a certain atmosphere that wasn’t to his liking.

The seventh-years had been the only ones to know about the decision of the captaincy from the beginning, so Iwaizumi was angry with Oikawa for thinking that his overexertion and double training time were due to his frustration at not having managed to get the role of captain of the Quidditch team. He didn’t like to guess that his best friend wasn’t satisfied with his new role as vice-captain, and that his words were accompanied by lethal poison every time he said he was satisfied with the position he had acquired.

"I bet Kindaichi never thought he would achieve such an uprising just by saying a simple word," Oikawa said, who was sitting next to him on the couch while his legs were in his lap, letting Iwaizumi to continue being angry with him after he spotted the bandage on his knee, although during training he didn’t see him move in a strange way to try to hide any pain he might have.

After practice Iwaizumi ended up being the one to reassure the fifth-year one that he shouldn’t worry about having left a bad impression only because he thought that Oikawa would be the new captain instead of the one who actually turned around because he was the captain of the team.

“I'm not surprised that everyone continued talking about it, but that you are the one who avoids to do it,” Iwaizumi expressed, since since the practice was over, his best friend didn’t talk about the training yet, and both were aware that it was a subject of which several were already speaking, because although Iwaizumi became accustomed to feeling watched all the time because for him it wasn’t news that Oikawa was one of the most sought for both his appearance and personality, at that time he didn’t doubt that some around them were talking about the new leaders of the Slytherin's quidditch team “I even thought you would play dumb and that you would make Kindaichi believe you were the captain," he added, watching him.

“I rather spend my time on other activities instead of bothering Kindaichi or taking the focus away from Tetsu-chan. I prefer to bother you, Iwa-chan.”

“You already do that.”

Oikawa giggled when he heard him.

The one with brown hair watched him for a few seconds, because although he liked that Iwaizumi cared for him by manifesting it in his own way, he wasn’t frustrated because he didn’t manage to be the new captain of the team, although he was concerned about the consequences that decision would carry, because although he believed that Kuroo was the best option to lead the team to which they belonged, he was aware that many people believed the opposite, and that most probably had projected him on the highest pedestal. But he couldn’t afford to imagine what would have happened if the roles had been reversed, because he had to focus on keeping together the team that already had begun to collapse, and also to prevent Kuroo from destroying himself in the process.

“I do believe it’s weird that you aren’t the captain.”

Oikawa looked at him impressed.

Iwaizumi didn’t disagree with the fact that the black-haired one was the new leader and his best friend the vice-captain, since he also believed that with the leadership of the two together they had great possibilities of arriving far away, but anyway it continued to seem strange to him that Oikawa wasn’t the leader with more responsibility, because although he didn’t express it out loud as Kindaichi, he also thought that the brown-haired one would inherit the role in the team.

Oikawa bit his lower lip in a hidden way. "Are you saying that I should have been chosen as captain, Iwa-chan?” He hid his sudden enthusiasm behind a cheery smile “You flatter me,”

Iwaizumi watched him seriously after catching a glimpse of the proud smile on his face.

“I’m saying that it was obvious that you didn’t get along with the former captain, and that maybe your bad relationship with him led to him not choosing you as the new leader of the team,” he said.

"It doesn’t matter," Oikawa stated immediately when he heard those words. It was true that he didn’t maintain a good relationship with the previous captain, but that didn’t matter anymore because it was about the past, and his duty was to focus on the team of which he was part of the present “Tetsu-chan is the captain and I the vice-captain. Knowing that you still trust me despite not being elected as captain is enough for me." He determined exposing his thoughts aloud.

Knowing that everyone believed in him to be the new captain and that they continued to do so even though he wasn’t chosen as such, showed him that his housemates trusted him to guide them on the quidditch course, and that was all he needed to be able to continue and feel satisfied with his new role in the team.

“I'm not going to let you believe you're the best, Stupidkawa.”

Oikawa formed an expression of offense. “Iwa-chan don’t cut the insult!”

“Stupid Oikawa.”

“Don't separate it either!”

* * *

Kuroo glimpsed the way in which Iwaizumi held a small smile on his face at the same time Oikawa seemed to be offended until they began to fight each other, after the black-haired one didn’t hesitate to throw a cushion from the chair at the other one who decided to do the same, and he finally left the common room he shared with them as well as with the rest of the Slytherin students.

He didn’t think he didn’t have friends who were present to lift his spirits since both Suga and Daishou had spoken to him both before and after the practices as all seventh-year students did afterwards, to assure him that they agreed with him and the decision on the captaincy and to congratulate him honestly without any bad intentions behind their words, but he envied that Oikawa had someone with whom to spend his time talking about what he felt, whether it was about quidditch or any other topic.

His mind began to sink in all the memories that appeared in his head until the sudden presence of a person in front of him prevented him from continuing to enter his own thoughts, feeling more and more in misery.

“Why you didn’t tell me you're the Slytherin captain?!”

Bokuto's tone of voice that echoed through the hallway and made the characters of several paintings around them, cover their ears or make faces with annoyance at the sudden excited shout, was enough for Kuroo to laugh sincerely.

"Because you have a big mouth and you wouldn’t have kept it a secret," he answered.

His best friend, who had run around the castle looking for him because he wanted to find him even if it was already night and had to be in his respective common room instead of near the Slytherin dungeons with his light blue pajamas on that had drawings of owls of various types in his pants as well as the image of a big one in his chest, opened his mouth to reproach him for those words, but after thinking about it for a few more seconds, he realized that his best friend was probably right and it was more likely that he wouldn’t have managed to remain silent if he had known that they had the same role in their respective teams, so he decided to smile enthusiastically and place his hands on the sides of his waist because he was proud that the both of them were the leaders of their teams, but his expression slowly turned into a grimace of confusion when he noticed all the words Kuroo had mentioned.

“Why you wanted to keep it a secret?” He asked.

"Because everyone loves you, Bo," he said, and the boy in front of him would have held a big smile and a certain special glow in his pupils in case he didn’t mentioned those words with a grimace that didn’t show happiness “I know that the team preferred, and still prefers, someone else to be the captain.”

Bokuto raised an eyebrow.

“I think you're the best captain of all captains. Sure, after me, because if I accepted that you are a better captain than me then I think my team would be angry with me, but I don’t want to put myself in a superior position because I know you are awesome. Maybe also after Akaashi? I don’t know, I think I should have to think about it. Maybe you are tied in the same place or are even better than me? Or the three of us are in the same level? Also what about Daichi? I like him but you should have priority for being my best friend. But Akaashi is prettier, so, I don’t know," Bokuto seemed to be deeply focused on his own words.

Kuroo laughed as he watched his best friend remain confused by the phrases that had left his own mouth, and he was thankful that he was spontaneous enough to make him laugh when he was totally absorbed in his thoughts. He always managed to make him feel that all the stress disappeared with his words that never carried bad intentions and with him honest attitude.

“Thanks, I think,” he expressed “But as much as I appreciate it, you're not in Slytherin. It’s important for the team to accept me.”

“If they don’t accept you, I’ll chase them all!” Bokuto exclaimed more than sure.

"I'm glad you're my best friend," Kuroo said sincerely.

The one belonging to Hufflepuff held one of his best smiles when he heard him, but tilted his head in confusion after verifying that Kuroo wasn’t smiling like him. “And why aren’t you smiling?” He asked.

Despite not being a complete observer like his housemates who turned out to be highly perceptive, Kuroo smiled sideways when he realized that Bokuto didn’t need to be an expert or try to read him all the time to get to know him enough, and therefore realized that the lack of a smile on his face was due to several reasons. Kuroo leaned his back against the wall and let out a sigh.

“Kenma,”

Bokuto copied his position and watched him while forming a pout with his lips after remembering that his best friend would never be totally well nor form a sincere smile unless the sixth-year boy who belonged to Ravenclaw, would stop avoiding him and accept to talk to him for at least five minutes.

"I wish I could talk about this with him," he added.

“Do you want a bros hug?” Bokuto asked.

That kind of hugs were what they gave each other when one of the two didn’t had the best day and really needed someone to put their arms around them to assure them that although at the moment things didn’t seem right, soon everything would cease to be a problem and they would find a way to find the positive side of the situations that were currently making them feel like they were drowning.

And that was what Kuroo just needed.

He accepted his best friend to surround him with his big arms that quickly gave him a feeling of confidence as well as security. But although he also wrapped his arms around him, and was grateful that both Bokuto and the rest of his friends were there to support him and give him encouragement at times when he wasn’t fully sure of his abilities, he wouldn’t be totally calm until the dyed blond that continued to be the main character in his train of thoughts, agreed to at least stay close to him without fleeing as fast as his legs would allow him. He was tired of always watching Kenma get away from him, but he also understood why he was doing it.

Was he really sorry for what he did?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS, THERE'S A KISS. I JUST TAKE THINGS SLOWLY OKAY
> 
> But for real, sorry if the story is kinda bored? Idk, I just feel like, because I still didn't make any of the ships to happen it's not really entertaining, it's just that before anything, I had to write the first chapters to settled down everything in the story.
> 
> But well, hope you enjoyed!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had (have) to read for classes but ended up making brownies.
> 
> I really, really can't stop listening Kill This Love from Blackpink.

Ennoshita finished stretching the different parts of his body and felt that all his muscles thanked him in return.

“Now that you know who your opponents are, how do you feel?” He asked.

Akaashi finished fixing his bluish tie with diagonal silver lines before answering. "Ennoshita, they aren’t my opponents," He corrected.

The one with black hair who was still in his pajamas because he spent his time stretching every part of his body after having slept a few hours, giggled.

“Of course they are. You are the only sixth-year captain, Akaashi. You are extremely important.”

"And you're the only sixth-year vice-captain," He reminded him, and Akaashi immediately regretted mentioning those words, because the ego of his roommate seemed to shoot up when he didn’t hesitate to stand on his bed and place his hands at the sides of his waist while smiling broadly and proudly. "If you fall, I won’t let you play," He added, looking at him.

Ennoshita came down in a matter of seconds. “Did you know that Kuroo was captain before everyone knew it?” He asked.

The news that the seventh-year was the new leader of the Slytherin quidditch team with Oikawa by his side as the vice-captain, had quickly dissipated through the halls and corners of Hogwarts over the weekend, quickly getting all the students to start talking about it since everyone was aware of Oikawa's great abilities.

Akaashi shook his head.

"He managed to keep it well secret," He expressed, realizing that the Slytherin student probably didn’t told Bokuto either, who the previous day didn’t hesitate to interrupt his quiet lunch to tell him about his best friend's captaincy, about which he didn’t doubt Bokuto would have told him before if he would have known in advance.

“Why do you think he did it?”

“I don’t think it was to maintain the mystery. It’s obvious that the majority thought that Oikawa would be the captain and it is remarkable that the others that make up the team get along better, or are closer, to him than Kuroo. Personally, I think that both are good players and able to occupy said role, so I’m not surprised that Oikawa is the vice-captain, although it’s clear that if they kept it secret it’s because those of the team don’t think like me."

Ennoshita watched him without blinking for a few seconds, since he didn’t expect his roommate to give such a long and complex answer with only a few details. He didn’t even noticed the difference in the relationships and closeness between the students of the Slytherin house, and he raised an eyebrow at the realization that perhaps it was his turn to start looking at the other teams as the vice-captain of his, because in the end, it was just as important to think about his own team as it was about the other three.

“And you think that Kuroo will do it well?”

Akaashi opened his mouth to answer but remained silent when Kenma entered the room, so he decided to pretend to be focused on getting his tie ready while Ennoshita suddenly seemed interested in changing his pajamas for his uniform, as they knew that mentioning the new Slytherin captain in front of him wasn’t a good idea, and for the same reason they were surprised when he spoke.

“You don’t have to stay quiet," Kenma said.

The two with black hair exchanged glances with each other.

"I think he'll do it well," Akaashi decided to answer to his housemate’s earlier question “Being the captain of a team is a burden of responsibility, and I think there is no one more prepared to lead them than he is.”

“Oikawa is the new captain then?”

Akaashi and Ennoshita once again exchanged glances with each other as they listened to the words of the third present and then rested their stares of amazement on him.

“What?” Kenma articulated when he noticed he was being observed.

“Oikawa isn’t the captain.”

"Kuroo is," Ennoshita added.

Kenma's expressionless face changed for a few seconds, giving them the opportunity to understand that he previously mentioned they could keep talking because he didn’t suspect they were talking about Kuroo.

“Is he?” He asked in amazement.

Neither of them was surprised to hear him. They didn’t doubt his electronic device kept him busy enough to not notice or hear what everyone had talked about in the past few days, no matter what time it was.

Kenma frowned faintly at the sight of Akaashi nodding.

He wondered why Kuroo didn’t tell him personally.

And then he returned to hold his typical lost look as he remembered why.

* * *

Kenma had never been a fan of big crowds. Not even the small ones.

His strength wasn’t being social or making friends, nor starting conversations or exchange exhausting words with people he didn’t know and who approached him spontaneously. It took him a long time to enter into trust with someone, and even more to feel comfortable in the presence of other people.

He stretched the sleeves of his tunic when he saw the people around him in the Great Hall.

He managed to gather enough courage to decide to congratulate Kuroo on his new position in the team, but the students who were around him congratulating him and patting him on the back, managed to get the Ravenclaw member to let his nerves eat him down.

“Kenma,”

The one with black roots and hair dyed of blond noticed the one occupying the other part of his sight after said one was seated in front of him, and therefore, giving his back to those present in the Slytherin table.

"I don’t like telling you this since you know what I think about him," Akaashi continued while having his eyes fixed in the book in front of him “But I’m sure that if you approach him, he will leave everyone aside to approach you as well.”

Kenma was surprised to hear him, because as he mentioned, Akaashi wasn’t in favor of the Slytherin student that always tried to find him, which also explained why Akaashi always chose to go with him when Kuroo was present instead of stay talking with Bokuto. He supposed that his own nerves managed to be remarkable enough that even his roommate decided to accept him talking to the other one before he continued to transfer his nervousness to him.

He had been fleeing from Kuroo since the holidays started, so he didn’t have a conversation with him or been close to him for several months. And although he hated himself because he thought he shouldn't feel like congratulating him on his new role, he wanted to do it anyway. His brain was screaming for him to stay still and let the event pass, since he didn’t have to give him a few words of encouragement, while his heart made him feel nervous and push him into the abyss of intrigue and anxiety.

He barely managed to fall asleep as soon as the idea of congratulating him appeared in his head.

He should be able to mention four simple words.

'Congratulations for being captain.'

Not one more word or one word less.

It was as simple as it sounded.

Kenma stood up after giving himself enough courage, but again found himself sitting in a matter of seconds, and Akaashi looked up from his book to watch him.

"You don’t have to do it," He reminded him.

“But I want to,”

“Then do it,”

“I'm not sure.”

The two contradicted each other with their own words.

“Do you want me to call him?” Akaashi asked, been aware of how much his friend hated big groups of people.

Kenma took a few seconds before shaking his head.

Half of his nervousness would disappear given the case Akaashi called Kuroo, but he wanted to be able to do it himself.

"I promise that if you do it, I'll give you a new videogame," He heard the black-haired boy say.

While Kenma was the son of a muggle father and a witch mother, Akaashi could be considered pureblood after having two parents who owned wands, so the first one felt that he regained his courage after listening him, not only because he really wanted a new videogame, but also because of what Akaashi had said, who hardly knew and understood what was the device that he always had with him, although at that moment he decided to leave it in his room to not let the object take his attention from the one belonging to Slytherin.

The smallest of smiles appeared on Akaashi's face when Kenma got up.

Feeling that every step from his table to the Slytherin table was the same as trying to climb the worst and highest of the mountains, he managed to advance some distance to remain standing near the table where the green and silver colors stood out. He didn’t dare to get closer, not only because most of the students from that house didn’t give him a sense of confidence, but also because he didn’t dare, and yet his nervousness worsened and he felt the heat build up in his cheeks when Akaashi turned out to be right, because just as Kuroo noticed that a shy golden gaze rested on him, he stopped concentrating on the people who wore his same uniform when he saw Kenma watching him, although the latter fixed his eyes on the ground once he did. The seventh-year remained confused for a few seconds, wondering if for real the one with black roots and blond hair was standing not so far from him, that being the way he expressed that he wanted to talk, because very regretfully, he became accustomed to him don’t wanting to stay close to him and flee from his person every time he was near, so it took him a few more seconds before he realized that that could also be an opportunity for him.

Futakuchi and Yahaba fixed their eyes on who happened to be their new captain when said one stopped being the center of attention in their table after getting up and going towards the Ravenclaw boy that was waiting for him, fiddling with the sleeves of his tunic and using the ground as fixed point, and as the respective captain of Ravenclaw guessed right, Kenma had taken the first steps, while Kuroo didn’t hesitate to leave all others aside to get close to him.

The meeting between the two was a collision of nerves. Kuroo was still stunned to realize that Kenma was really in front of him, still and not desperate to run away from him. He didn’t understand the sudden change of attitude towards his person, but he wasn’t bothered by the unexcpected turn of behavior, quite the opposite. While for his part, Kenma was already beginning to regret having left his electronic device in the room and left the table of his house, since his heart kept threatening to pierce his chest and his blush was evident even if he wanted to avoid it. He wasn’t ready to talk to him, and he hated himself even more not only because he had decided to talk to him even though he had all the arguments for not doing so, but also because he didn’t want to understand why his body was acting contrary to what he wanted.

He hated himself, and he hated Kuroo.

But his words proved otherwise.

“Congratulations,” He managed to articulate without knowing how.

And he walked away hurriedly before Kuroo could even say a word, not allowing him to express all the sentences he had already begun to formulate in his head.

At least he was able to say one of the four words.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other day I thought why not... a... glee AU? But I only imagined it with the Seijoh boys. Oikawa basically being a mix between Rachel Berry and Santana Lopez, and Iwaizumi the football's team captain that doesn't understand this club. Then Yahaba looking up to Oikawa and Kyoutani to Iwaizumi, both of them hating each other because Kyoutani thinks singing is stupid and Yahaba believes Kyoutani is pure muscles and zero brain. Makki being in the glee club and Mattsun in the football team, both pining at each other but keeping it subtle (or at least trying to) because of the bickering between Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Kindaichi being the new one in the football team, always seeing this pretty and quiet boy with black hair that he sometimes catches humming a song when he is distracted or sitting in the stands while the football training is being done, and Kunimi being too inmerse in his world while wearing headphones and writing and composing songs to not notice this tall boy with spiky hair that always expects to catch a glimpse of him in the hallways or that sometimes receives a ball with his head for being focused on him instead of on the training. What if their lockers were side by side but Kindaichi feels too flustered to talk to him? And Watari just wants to dance in peace without the groups of his school releasing a battle or feeling like having lunch is the same as trying to survive.
> 
> Plus, what if Iwaizumi and Oikawa were always closed (like canon) but once Oikawa enters the glee club and Iwaizumi the football team, they let distance come up between their friendship?
> 
> But then I thought, what if the glee club was the pretty setter squad and the football team all the wing spikers? And what if some of them were cheerleaders?
> 
> Takeda being the glee club's teacher that doesn't lose hope and Ukai being the football team's coach. Shiratorizawa being Vocal Adrenaline and Ushijima saying to Oikawa "You should've come to Vocal Adrenaline." 
> 
> I just wonder, why don't I have this motivation for reading for classes.
> 
> Previously on this story, the Gryffyndor try-outs were a disaster.

Tanaka and Nishinoya looked at each other again.

They nodded totally determined, and all they knew, was that after adding a few drops of green liquid which origin they didn’t know, to the cauldron that laid on the table in front of them, a small explosion occurred, that being the motive why their faces ended up covered of charcoal, and even Tanaka could see a tiny flame in the blond lock of his best friend.

"Gryffindor, thirty points less," The professor established, who didn’t do more that glance at them from the corner of her eye after being used to things like these happening when the Gryffindor duo took her class.

Both Tanaka and Nishinoya began to laugh out loud despite the fact that they succeeded on having their house discounted thirty more points for preferring to poke around with the potion and not following the indicated steps, and even though Daichi was likely to hit them later. The high-fived each other and Nishinoya began to move his fingers wondering which ingredient to use next, while Tanaka remained watching a particular boy who was also present. And fortunately for the teacher and the rest of the students, the class ended before Nishinoya called everyone's attention with a surprising mix in his cauldron.

Tanaka approached who he surprisingly heard laughing at the explosion. “You found it funny?” He asked smiling.

Ennoshita couldn’t help but smile when he saw him.

Tanaka smiled enthusiastically, since it was the first time since they returned to have classes, that the one in front of him smiled in his presence instead of observing him with a serious look or leaving instantly with some excuse.

"When you won’t win the Cup of the Houses, no one will be able to protect you from your own housemates," the Ravenclaw said.

Tanaka laughed when he heard him, and waved his hand dismissing his words.

"It doesn’t matter, it's funny anyway," He inquired unconcerned.

“It won’t be fun when everyone will run after seeing you with a face like that in the hallway.”

Tanaka opened his eyes like two big plates when he realized that surely the consequences of the explosion lay on his face, and approached the tunic of his uniform to cleanse himself, but two hands on his cheeks stopped him, and he remained watching Ennoshita, who avoided his gaze while keeping his eyes resting on his face after trying to remove the charcoal.

"Don’t mess up your uniform," The Ravenclaw said. Ennoshita's fingers caressed Tanaka's skin, and then he rubbed his own hands to remove the charcoal that he took away from his face. "Finished." The one belonging to Ravenclaw said, but then frowned slightly when he realized that the one in front of him was staring at him and not moving at all. “What?”

After realizing that he had emained speechless, Tanaka shook his head.

"Nothing, I was just thinking that I really like Ravenclaws," He mentioned along with a smile.

And as he curled his mouth, Ennoshita was again as serious as ever.

And he only gave him a totally false smile before leaving the classroom, and therefore him too, and as soon as he left the class, he leaned his back against the wall and let out a weary sigh. He had followed the words given by Akaashi and therefore focus on trying to relax and not let everything influence him, but he knew he let himself go. Instinctively he approached Tanaka, only for him to remind him that it wasn't he who the Gryffindor thought of, but someone else who also belonged to Ravenclaw.

That it was a year older.

And a girl.

Ennoshita rubbed the palms of his hands over his uniform to uselessly get rid of that tingling sensation that his hands on the skin of the Gryffindor made him feel, and recovered to start walking quickly down the corridor.

* * *

 

Hinata took a step. And then step back for the umpteenth time.

To get closer or not?

It was a dangerous decision that could put his life in serious danger.

He had been watching Kageyama practicing for more than fifteen minutes, and exactly for that amount of time, he didn’t decide whether to approach him because he also wanted to train even if it wasn’t in the quidditch field, or stay away because Kageyama's face didn’t show any desire for company. But before he could continue to decide what to do, his body had already betrayed him after moving holding his broom. He had wanted to practice on his own but doing so was only boring as well as useless, and when he was told that another Gryffindor had asked for the box of materials, he realized that it wasn’t Inuoka because he was doing homework that he himself was supposed to be doing too, but he went through the castle until he saw that Kageyama was the one that had the box as he tried to pass the quaffle through improvised hoops that consisted of holes emerged between the different branches of the trees.

The desire to move overcame his fear of the consequences that Kageyama's attitude towards him could generate, so he finally decided to approach him, although he remained a statue and hid behind his broom when Kageyama heard that he was no longer by himself, and turned to glare at him with his blue eyes.

“I can see you.”

Hinata was surprised to hear that Kageyama's words to him were not about some insult. The orange-haired one looked confused, until he realized that his reflexes made him hide uselessly behind his broom, so he stopped holding the stick in front of him. They hadn't seen each other or speak again since Kageyama left the Quidditch field in the middle of the try-outs to join the team.

“What are you doing here?” Kageyama asked.

"I saw you practicing," Hinata replied fearfully.

“And?”

“I also want to practice.”

Kageyama managed to get Hinata back to hold his broom in front of him when he suddenly rested his gaze on him, but not because he wanted to scare him with his eyes, but because he was surprised to hear that he had as much energy as he to train at times that didn’t corresponded, and because he also didn’t understand why he was talking with him when they weren't even friends and had only known each other for having the same goal.

The black-haired one was frustrated at the thought of the Gryffindor team, but he spoke anyway.

“You want to try to stop my shots? It’s useless to do them without anyone defending," He asked.

Hinata again stopped protecting himself with the broom and didn’t hesitate to nod quickly, because although he preferred to throw the quaffle instead of retaining it, he didn’t care as long as he could ride on his broom and be with someone who shared his passion for quidditch, so he held a big smile on his face after being in the air again, although it disappeared as soon as he realized what he had really accepted, and remained totally tense when Kageyama approached flying to him quickly on his broom and then throw the ball towards him, making a point because the orange-haired didn’t even moved by an inch. Some strands of his hair turned out to be the only ones to perform a minimum movement due to the speed caused by the ball.

"It's useless if you don’t move," Kageyama said, eyeing him with a frown.

While he went to look for the quaffle, Hinata stopped being a statue and clutched his hands to his broom when Kageyama again prepared to approach him, because although he wasn’t used to being in that position, he still thought that everything was a competition, so he remained focused and ready to defend. He didn’t take his eyes off the one who started to fly towards him for the second time, and although he managed to receive the intense thrust with both hands, he lost his balance and ended up falling off his broom with the quaffle still in his posesion. 

His broom fell beside him.

And rather than laughing, Kageyama got off his broom and watched him. "It doesn’t work if you leave the hoops without defense," he said, looking at him.

Instead of complaining because he felt from a slightly considerable height, or knowing that he would probably have a big bruise on the back of his head for the next few weeks, Hinata grinned widely and stretched his arms with the quaffle in his possession.

“I caught it!” He exclaimed totally happy.

“I already realized that.”

“Now I want to throw it!”

“Of course not, I won’t be a guardian!” Kageyama flatly refused.

Hinata got up in a flash and pointed him out. “I accepted to defend so now it's your turn!”

“But I don’t want to!”

“You are weird!” The orange-haired one exclaimed.

“Of course I’m not!” Kageyama denied.

The black-haired one finally agreed to defend after Hinata looked at him for a few long seconds and seemed totally determined to remain in that position until he accepted, but before heading towards the tree, he spoke again.

He needed to ask him because he really wanted to know if he had lost.

“Hey,”

Hinata looked at him.

"You ... you've ..." He looked at all the possible places wasting time, but finally formulated aloud the question that had appeared in his head as soon as he saw him “Have you managed to join the team?” He asked him.

Hinata shrugged as he listened and repeatedly throwed the quaffle up.

"I don’t know. After you left, they said they would do the try-outs again because at the end nobody could stand out, and practice ended a few minutes after you left," he said, telling him what had happened after he decided to leave the field.

Kageyama looked surprised at him, since he expected to hear him mention that everyone continued talking about him after he decided to leave the field in the middle of the practice instead of concluding it due to his absence.

"You know, you're a fast player," Hinata added “But your way of talking sucks.”

The black-haired one didn’t hesitate to focus on his last words instead of on the first ones.

“What do you mean?!” He screamed without really being angry.

"That's what I mean," Hinata answered, looking at him with the quaffle under his arm “You can’t shout every time something doesn’t go your way. I mean, I also shout, like, all the time, but I don’t treat others badly for the same reason.”

Nobody understood why he didn’t returned the comments to Kageyama during the practice match, but what no one noticed, was that the black-haired one acted the way he did because his moves were frustrated by minus errors, and that he didn’t answered at him because at least all the words he had said to him, although they were expressed in a high tone of voice and with a serious look, turned out to be nothing more and nothing less than tips so he could increase his skills, such as not keeping his back straight to gain speed, not rest his hands on the full front of the broom, or cross his feet so he didn’t lose his balance easily. He didn’t doubt his words were said with good intentions, but the way he expressed them was only harmful to himself because he couldn’t manifest them in the way he did and pretend for anyone to be happy with it.

“It doesn’t matter, I doubt they let me belong to the team anyway,” Kageyama looked at the grass along with a frown.

“Daichi-san and Yaku-san never said they wouldn’t let you in.”

The black-haired boy looked up.

"The try-outs will surely be repeated, so you can’t do the same if you want to join the team," Hinata told him.

"I do want to join the team," Kageyama determined.

“And me too.”

Kageyama snorted, and rolled his eyes before allowing a few minutes to pass in silence.

"Do you want ..." He began to say, or at least tried to “You prefer ... We could make passes.” He managed to say.

“You say that because you don’t want to be guardian!” Hinata pointed out.

“Of course not!”

“Yes, I’m sure!”

"Fine, then I’ll stop you even though I’m not a guardian!"

“No! Wait! I rather make passes!”

“Then don’t complain!”

“You're weird!”

“I'm not!”

Kageyama strode awkwardly before getting on his broom and staying away from the lawn by only a few centimeters instead of facing the circle formed by the branches of the trees, so Hinata reacted by copying him while he smiled because he had finally found another person with whom to play quidditch.

From a distance, Daichi and Yaku had contemplated the whole situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Jealousy is right around the corner.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	16. Chapter 16

“Can you please change your face?”

Ennoshita continued with a frown although he heard Akaashi’s petition. "No." He said curtly.

“Would you like someone to have a similar face to yours on your birthday?”

“First, my birthday is a day after Christmas so no one is able to have a bad face, and second, I don’t care if it's Tsukishima's birthday. He’s not even here. We don’t even know him.”

The two of them, along with Kenma and the rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, were in the Great Hall waiting for the fifth-year that was mentioned, since it was his birthday and Akaashi decided to have a small party among them to be able to celebrate it. While for his part, Ennoshita didn’t understand why he had to change his serious expression since the most important birthday person, the birthday boy, wasn’t there yet, and also because he thought that accepting him in the team didn’t mean they had to become best friends.

“Now he’s one of the team. You have to make him feel welcome," Akaashi determined.

They had accepted the two fifth-year students who appeared in the try-outs, not only because the team had few players after not having seventh-years, but also because although both didn’t seem to give their best during the first practice, they convinced the captain to let them join the team since he believed that their skills could improve. So that explained the reason of why Kunimi was also present, and with Kindaichi, since it had been easier to convince the Slytherin to come forward since his best friend was always with him and therefore would be more convenient to get Kunimi to attend; than to persuade Kenma who refused to attend repeatedly, although he was sitting next to his roommates completely focused on his electronic device. Both his roommates knew that he didn’t feel like doing anything after his mood seemed to have declined even more after trying to talk to Kuroo, but they thought it was worse to leave him alone in the room than to force him to attend a small birthday party.

"And just for the record, not everyone celebrates Christmas," Akaashi didn't doubt to add.

“Fine. I'll change my face once he gets here," Ennoshita agreed.

He also seemed to have become obsessed with getting angry easily since his crossing with Tanaka in class, so Akaashi had to deal with his two roommates, each one inserted into his own thoughts, although he didn’t complain as Tsukishima continued to be absent, letting him begin to think that he would let the others taste something of the food they had, hiding the fact that he was also hungry and could swear that the onigiris near him were calling him.

And while they were still waiting, the one whose birthday was that day, was down the stairs to go to the place where he knew that his housemates and now also teammates were waiting for him.

He never had considered himself a fan of celebrating his birthday, and the owl letting several letters fall in front of him during breakfast, only managed to remind him that he preferred to act as if it was just any other day, but Akaashi seemed determined to convince him that at least he should celebrate with him and the others of his new quidditch team, and although the idea didn’t please him at all, he wanted to feel part of the team and not start with his left foot, so he was forced to accept that they had a party for him.

Although that wasn’t the reason why he was in a bad mood.

However, a familiar voice called him before he could continue his path.

“Tsukki!”

Yamaguchi finally managed to reach him after running down the stairs.

It was the first time they saw each other all day, since despite being Wednesday, they didn’t share classes and were busy the whole afternoon.

“What?”

Yamaguchi felt a blow to his chest when his best friend reacted in that way, but he decided to smile broadly anyway.

"It's your birthday!" He said more enthusiastically than the birthday boy.

“And?”

The little emotion of Tsukishima was evident.

“Don’t you want to celebrate? It’s not over yet.”

The blond glanced sideways at the Great Hall. “The team is waiting for me. They’re throwing me a party," He explained unconcerned.

Yamaguchi smiled even more.

“Can I go?” He asked.

"If you want," He said, shrugging.

With that gesture and those words, Yamaguchi again found himself without smiling.

He understood that his best friend had never been a fan of celebrating his own birthday, but he didn’t understand why he acted that way with him, since it wasn’t the first day he did it.

Since the classes begun, the Ravenclaw had been treating him in a distant way although he continued to join him, and at that time, Yamaguchi only wanted to spend some time with him after thinking it was a very important day, and that a birthday was always fun to celebrate. Besides, they didn’t saw each other all day, so he didn’t expect Tsukishima to act so reluctantly towards him.

He was supposed to be the exception.

“You don’t want me to go?” He asked, hurt.

“Don’t you have anything more important to do?”

Yamaguchi's confusion won over his frustration on that occasion.

“It's your birthday. What could possibly be more important?”

Tsukishima frowned when he heard him. “I….” Yamaguchi observed him confused. “I…”

“What?”

“I saw you talking witch Yachi this afternoon.”

The Hufflepuff remained completely puzzled when the one in front of him uttered those words, but that didn’t prevent his cheeks to suddenly turned pink, to which the blond reacted by crossing his arms after seeing the change of color in Yamaguchi's face.

“Did you hear what we were talking about?” He asked.

“No. I only know that you preferred to spend my birthday with her.”

The anger was finally evident in his tone of voice.

Tsukishima was sure that his bad mood was because he had saw his best friend preferring to spend the afternoon with his housemate instead of with him. So he lost any desire to celebrate his birthday, although he was aware that he was in a bad mood since the classes begun, but not because it bothered him to study, but because what bothered him was to notice the way in which Yamaguchi acted when he was with Yachi.

“You can go with Yachi. I will go with the ones of my house.”

Tsukishima turned his back to go to the Great Hall, but he felt that something stopped him and then he glanced at Yamaguchi, who looked down and whose cheeks were even pinker, holding his robe with his hand.

"I spent the afternoon with her because I needed to talk," He mentioned.

“And you couldn’t talk with me?”

“Not really,”

“Why not?”

Yamaguchi released him after noticing that his best friend wouldn’t leave.

He could feel the heat piled on his cheeks, and he didn’t want to look up for anything in the world.

"Because we were talking about you," He confessed.

Tsukishima frowned when he heard him.

“Why were you talking about me?”

Yamaguchi didn’t want the situation to happen that way.

He wasn’t prepared, and he felt that his nerves were about to take control of his body.

However, he had grown tired of feeling that his best friend was distancing himself from him as the days progressed, so he decided to shake off the weight of his shoulders that he begun to feel a long time ago, without thinking twice about the consequences that his words could bring. He only knew that the perfect situation he had always imagined, was never going to happen, so at least he was going to choose when to turn his thoughts into a reality.

“I like you.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself because I rewatched Glee to do the Glee AU and OF COURSE myself had to get inmerse in another story. Agh. I'll just try to write both at the same time. Kidding, I'm just going to procrastinate.

Tsukishima opened his eyes like two large plates.

“I asked Yachi if she could help me because I didn’t know what to do,”

The Ravenclaw remained stupefied. He could listen with perfect attention to the boy who timidly continued to watch the ground because he didn’t dare to look him into his eyes, so he knew he wasn't imagining what he was hearing.

“That's why you saw me talking to her. I didn’t know what to do with what I feel.” Yamaguchi's heart was beating fast. He couldn’t believe that he was finally telling the truth to the one for whom he begun to feel more than a long friendship after he realized that wasn’t all he wanted. “I still don’t know what to do. But I wanted to tell you," He added.

Tsukishima didn’t take his eyes off him.

He felt that the atmosphere around him took an unexpected turn.

“I'm sorry, I'll let you celebrate with your housemates,”

Still not knowing if he regretted his words, Yamaguchi moved away from him, but he couldn’t establish a great distance as Tsukishima took him by the arm before he could get away from him, and the Hufflepuff formed a line with his lips. He was too embarrassed to turn his head and watch him. He wasn't ashamed to finally have allowed himself to be honest with his ownself as well as with the boy in front of him, but because he knew that his emotions could betray him after in those rested the chance that the friendship they had held during all those years, was thrown into the trash only because he wasn't able to see the blond as only his best friend.

"Look at me," He heard Tsukishima say.

He shook his head frantically. “I don’t want to look at you.”

“Then don’t.”

Yamaguchi remained confused at his words, and didn’t have time to react before Tsukishima pulled him and surprised him by astonishingly joining his lips with his. Yamaguchi felt his heart stopped beating because of the sudden closeness that Tsukishima established between them, and decided to continue with his eyes closed to enjoy the new sensation of warmth that ran through his mouth. It was the first kiss of both, and as Tsukishima was the one to start it, he was also the one to finish it.

Stopping listening to his brain for the first time in his life, he observed the boy next to him, who instantly started to look down.

“Why did you do that?” Yamaguchi asked.

The blush on his cheeks was enhanced.

“Because it's what I feel.”

“You don’t have to lie to me.”

Yamaguchi was denied to believe that his words could result in something good for him. He spent countless days thinking about how badly the results of his words could be, and therefore, how betrayed his true feelings would be.

“Why do you think I was in a bad mood?”

Yamaguchi closed his eyes again when Tsukishima approached his hand to his cheek, and left it there.

“I didn’t like seeing you so close with Yachi.”

Having avoided looking at him directly during all that time, Yamaguchi finally looked up when he heard him mention those words. Tsukishima remained serious, watching him without any hint that could indicate that he was being sarcastic or taking the situation as a joke. 

“But I don’t like her.”

“I didn’t know,”

“I said that you are the one I like.”

“And can’t I feel the same?”

Yamaguchi swallowed. He expected to be covered in his bed in a fetal position after fleeing after confessing to Tsukishima what he felt, not for him to be held by him.

“I don’t know,” He didn’t know what else to say.

“Well, I feel the same.”

“And why didn’t you say something before?” Yamaguchi asked him without knowing why he was sad.

“I was afraid.”

“Of ruining our friendship?”

Tsukishima nodded.

Both had felt the same fear.

They had never left it in evidence because they had been careful in the way they had addressed each other, as well as strategic when looking at each other or suppressing their jealousy when a situation they didn't like occurred. Yamaguchi had been sure that Tsukishima would never correspond to his feelings because he would never see him in the same way, just as Tsukishima had chosen to remain serious and channel his jealousy in long readings in order not to allow his annoyance to be evident every time he watched Yamaguchi talking animatedly with Yachi. Both had suppressed their feelings for fear that the relationship between them would be finalized, since both had preferred to put up with their emotions and pretend on the outside instead of letting the opportunity exist for their friendship to come to an end. Both had prioritized the other over their own emotions because they had preferred to suffer in silence instead of imagining what life would be like without the other at their side. They both thought that a friendship between them was enjoyable, but it wasn't enough anymore.

"I always knew that of the two, you were the bravest," Tsukishima didn't doubt to say.

Most of the time people didn't realize it, but he knew Yamaguchi well enough to know that although he was shy and sometimes reserved, he was also brave and didn't hesitate to face the challenges that lay ahead when necessary.

Yamaguchi stopped feeling that his nerves would play against him when he heard him. He no longer thought that his anguish could overcome him completely, and he observed the blond that surpass him by several centimeters. "And you the smartest," He expressed along with a sincere smile.

"Well, I like you, so, I agree on that."

The Hufflepuff only increased the size of his smile, and allowed himself to let out a strenuous sigh when he realized that he wouldn't run into his room with tears sliding down his cheeks. Mentally he had prepared himself so that those were the consequences of his confession that he had imagined so many times, so he had no clue of how to act now that the contrary to what he had thought, had happened. “And now?” He asked, because when he didn't know the answer, Tsukishima always had the solution.

“Do you want to celebrate my birthday with me?”

Yamaguchi didn’t hesitate to nod. He started to head towards the Great Hall, and instead of being totally impressed when Tsukishima again took him by the arm and pulled him, he simply preferred to enjoy the warm embrace that he gave him.

“By the way, happy birthday,”

“Oh, shut up,” Tsukishima said as always but with a flush on his face.

“Not sorry,” Yamaguchi let out a giggle.

Perhaps some things would start to change between the both of them, but that didn't mean they would stop being best friends and knowing each other in great detail.

* * *

“AKAAAAASHI!!!”

Ennoshita spit out his orange juice, Kenma didn’t take off his head from Fukunaga's shoulder, Tsukishima had a very bad feeling, the others present in the Great Hall, who weren't many since the lunch schedule had just begun and most of them were still in class, rested their eyes on the one whose voice had echoed all over the place, and Akaashi remained as the only one who stayed calm when he heard the scream of the seventh-year student who belonged to Hufflepuff, and who suddenly rushed through the doors of the place. He was used to hearing him call him in a strong tone of voice, so unlike the others, he was the only one to stay still before the new presence didn’t hesitate to rest his hands on the table to observe him with a big and excited smile on his face.

“Yes, Bokuto-san?” He asked appeased.

“Tomorrow is Konoha's birthday! And now that our houses are related, all of you must come!” He exclaimed cheerfully.

The only fifth-year present at the table, cocked his head before hiding his face behind the book that suddenly seemed very interesting to read at a short distance. He assumed that he would be the topic of the conversation even before the Hufflepuff started talking.

“Related? Why are our houses related?” Ennoshita asked.

“He!” Bokuto pointed to Tsukishima “He’s going out with one of mine!”

They stopped resting their eyes on the seventh-year to pose them in the blond, who began to shake his head. He wasn’t surprised that Bokuto found out about him and Yamaguchi, who casually appeared smiling nervously.

“Sorry, Tsukki. He forced me to tell him why I returned so late the other day," He said rubbing the back of his neck.

They interspersed their eyes between the two fifth-year ones, making even Kenma stop dozing on Fukunaga's shoulder after hearing both the words of Bokuto and Yamaguchi. Suddenly his body tensed, but again relaxed after checking that for that occasion, the Slytherin that usually accompanied Bokuto everywhere, wasn’t close.

A blush filled Yamaguchi's cheeks when the same boy who belonged to his house hugged him on his side and smiled excitedly, while Tsukishima chose to watch them both without knowing what to do or what to say. He still couldn’t decide if it bothered him that everyone knew that he was interested in Yamaguchi as well as his best friend in him.

“You will come, won’t you?” Bokuto inquired.

Akaashi looked at Tsukishima before looking at the one with bicolor hair. “Sure,” was the only thing he answered.

Bokuto began to jump of the emotion as soon as he heard him, and didn’t hesitate to run away without first taking Yamaguchi by the hand and taking him with him. And as soon they left, they all rested their eyes on Akaashi.

“If I said no, he would stay here longer. Nobody wanted that, right?” He said without needing someone to say something before.

The others realized that he was right, so they decided to continue having lunch. Tsukishima watched the one sitting next to him, and silently thanked him for making the situation as comfortable as possible, since he could barely decipher his feelings, and he didn’t want everyone in the castle to talk about him.

* * *

As they promised, the next day those characterized for being quieter instead of talkers, were present at the party that the Hufflepuff members decided to carry out for Konoha's birthday. The Great Hall gleamed small yellow flags for the house to which most belonged, and while some were sitting talking, others remained standing.

Sakusa was sitting next to Kenma watching the electronic device he held in his hands to try to understand what was so interesting. Neither of them was a fan of social gatherings, not even small ones, so they always ended up sitting side by side, while sitting in front of them, Ennoshita was totally focused on tearing the wood off the table with his intense dark-brown gaze. He wasn’t in the mood for another birthday, but he didn’t want to leave one of his roommates without company, although it seemed that his role was occupied by someone else, even though he should have expected the captain of Hufflepuff not to leave the captain of his house alone.

And while Terushima seemed to be willing to find some spell that would multiply the size of the cake they prepared and Asahi looked at him with a look of horror on his face while asking him to keep his wand, Yamaguchi kept a broad smile while standing next to Tsukishima, listening as he chatted with Yachi, who the blond seemed to have stopped rejecting after Yamaguchi assured him that he was the one he was interested in. It only took Bokuto five minutes to finally tell him why he arrived late to the common room on the night of Tsukishima's birthday. And just as in that situation Bokuto's determination had played in his favor, at that time the captain of Hufflepuff didn’t stop chasing Akaashi since he had appeared at the little party. He even seemed to have forgotten that the two were there as well as the others present to celebrate Konoha's birthday, who didn’t mind his best friend not paying attention to him since he knew it was impossible for Bokuto to focus on someone else when Akaashi was present in the same place as him.

“Bokuto-san, I already said that I don’t want another piece of cake.”

The two-color-haired one didn’t seem to give up with the idea that he accepted a second portion.

“But Akaashi! You’re the captain now! You have to be strong and healthy!”

“Cake is not healthy.”

Bokuto seemed to transform into a statue after realizing that the Ravenclaw was right, and Akaashi took advantage of the fact that the one in front of him seemed to be worrying about the amount of sugar he had consumed, to rest from his palaver when he sat next to Sakusa. However, Bokuto stopped being totally still and felt his ears reddened with anger when he glimpsed that Akaashi preferred to sit facing who was considered one of the three best players of his age instead of continuing to spend time with him. And despite being the birthday boy, Konoha passed his arm over the shoulders of his friend after perceiving that he would let jealousy consume him.

Sakusa started talking to Akaashi at the same time that Kenma felt that someone stood behind him. Someone tall enough to cast shadow over his electronic device, and he barely tilted his head back to meet green eyes that watched him along with a large but timid smile. However, that smile disappeared as soon as Kenma refocused on his electronic device, and the one who continued to possess a great height despite sitting down, looked at the dyed-blond sitting next to him.

“I'm Haiba Lev!” The one belonging to Hufflepuff introduced himself.

Kenma took a while to respond without taking his eyes off the screen. “Kenma.”

“I'm a chaser, just like you!”

Again the one belonging to Ravenclaw was slow to give him an answer. “I’m my team’s seeker, not a chaser,” He stated.

The one of Russian descendance remained shook while Komi face-palmed because he said to him that Sakusa was the one he had to talk to, not Kenma.

"We should practice together anyway!” Lev said without caring what position he played.

Komi stood confused and then decided to approach Konoha so that no one would relate him to Lev.

"Don’t wanna,” was the first time Kenma answered quickly.

An expression of frustration appeared on Lev's face. “Why not?”

“I don’t like to move more than necessary.”

The gray-haired boy cocked his head, confused to hear him pronounce those words.

Who didn’t want to move even more than in the practices?

Apparently, the boy sitting next to him at that moment.

It was not news that Kenma didn’t train more than the practices with the entire team when Ravenclaw reserved the Quidditch course, since being part of the team didn't take away the fact that he preferred to lie down, or that he felt more comfortable in closed spaces than in open spaces.

However, Lev was new, so he continued to look at him disoriented.

While not far from them, Yamaguchi observed Tsukishima once Yachi left them alone.

“Does it bother you that Bokuto said it? Or that I have told him? Both?” Yamaguchi inquired, somewhat worried about the serious face of the blond at his side.

"None," He answered, surprising him “It’s just that…” Yamaguchi observed him with curiosity and a slight smile on his face. He already deciphered that when Tsukishima wanted to say something important, it always took him a while to let go. He knew it was a matter of waiting for him to say the string of words. “He took your hand. I wanted to be the one to do it first," He said.

The Hufflepuff remained disoriented a few seconds after not realizing what he was referring to, until he recalled that during the noon of the previous day, Bokuto took his hand to take him as both had to join the others to plan the party they were at that moment. And when he chuckled, Tsukishima rested his eyes on him.

“You are jealous, Tsukki,” He said looking at him with a big smile.

“Shut up,”

“Nope,”

The blond chose to cross his arms and close his eyes after becoming offended and turn his head, but he opened them again when he felt fingers interlace with his and a head resting on his shoulder. He turned his head to realize that Yamaguchi decided to attach himself to his position and join his hand with his even though he was crossing his arms. Tsukishima hoped that the heat he felt in his cheeks wasn’t evident, since he wasn't yet used to his best friend acting as something more than that, much less to do it in front of other people.

And while the fifth-year ones turned out to have a quiet time between them, one sixth-year continued to get annoyed after continuing to hear how Terushima followed Kiyoko all over around. Ennoshita wondered why she had to be present everywhere, but he didn’t doubt that the one with a pierced tongue used the apparent proximity between the two houses to invite her and be able to pursue her. When she was close, Ennoshita's bad mood only got worse, and he didn’t want to sit and listen as another one of his same year was fascinated with her, so he got up and decided to leave the Great Hall without any explanations. He leaned his back against the wall as soon as he left, and it was a matter of minutes before another Ravenclaw left the party.

Ennoshita watched Kunimi when he stood in front of him.

“You don’t like parties either? I understand why we ended up in the same house," He expressed.

However, the fifth-year remained silent. Inside his mind, he wondered if he really wanted to open his mouth, and finished deciding after a few minutes in which Ennoshita observed him just as quietly. "You shouldn’t worry," He mentioned, and the sixth-year raised an eyebrow when he heard him. “The players are those who monopolize the attention during games, not the stands,” He added.

And with those words that another person might not have understood, Ennoshita glimpsed that although he didn’t spend himself hiding his mood, Kunimi turned out to be sufficiently observant and intelligent to realize the reason for his prolonged anger and serious face. So instead of getting angry at his words, he smiled sideways after hearing him and the words he expressed to try to remind him that he was equally important even if he wasn’t followed by more than half of the male population of Hogwarts, or rather the entire student population.

“I’m happy that you’re on the team, Kunimi.”

The mentioned one smiled slightly while Ennoshita stopped keeping his back leaning against the wall.

“You didn’t seem to be having more fun than me. Wanna go for a walk?” He added.

The one who remained sat down since talking wasn’t of his complete pleasure, and who without Kindaichi by his side got bored faster than usual, only took a few seconds before agreeing and accepting the offer, so they both walked away from the Great Hall, without realizing that a particular student had remained close enough to listen to them, and therefore, let his anger turn red on his cheeks that perfectly matched with the red and gold color of his tie.

And just as the Ravenclaw duo didn’t see him, Tanaka didn’t notice that a black-haired boy whose eyesight was partially limited by the falling fringe on the right side of his face, and whose uniformly was the same as the others with the only difference that his tie carried the green and silver lines, sat on the stairs closest to the Great Hall watching the only person in which his golden eyes had rested from the beginning. Bokuto invited him days ago, but he decided that although he would give anything to be in the same place as Kenma, he also understood that the same one didn’t want to be near him, so he didn’t want to ruin his night by showing up.

Although on the other hand, Kuroo continued to wonder what the sudden approach of the other day had meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Yaku meets an interesting and tall fifht-year Hufflepuff.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have four things to say.
> 
> 1\. Kunimi Akira, Shirabu Kenjirou and Suna Rintaro are so beautiful it hurts me.  
> 2\. Why in all the college AUs I never once read Yaku as one of the chosen players for the national team? Or at least still playing volleyball in college? HE'S SO AWESOME.  
> 3\. Thanks for keeping reading!!  
> 4\. Happy Easter!

After being the first one to break free from classes, Yaku was the only one being on the quidditch field while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, hoping that they could hold a real practice that afternoon, that no one would get angry with anyone, that he wouldn’t have to use his terrible attitude that appeared when everything started to get out of control and Daichi's serious face was not enough to calm the chaos, and that he wouldn’t have to appeal to his role as vice-captain to be heard.

He and Daichi didn’t lose hope. Regardless of what others thought or what happened both the previous year and the practices of the other day, they firmly believed that Kageyama and Hinata could be the new additions of that year, but they both had to show the others that they deserved a place in the team, and unless Kageyama improved his attitude and Hinata could stand out, then they couldn’t accept them in the team, regardless of whether they were sure that both were great players, and that they were mutually reinforcing each other even though they didn’t even know it.

A sudden shadow was projected on him, and after being accustomed to the members of his team to announce themselves after arriving talking loudly or laughing out loud, he didn’t hesitate to use the broom he held to strike a blow to the forehead of the one who appeared without introducing himself and decided to stand behind him to scare him in that way. The gray-haired boy who turned out to be much taller than him, replaced the big smile he had held with a grimace of pain before bringing his hands to the area where Yaku had hit him with the broomstick, and complained as the older one turned to face him with a frown.

“Don't scare me like that!” The Gryffindor exclaimed irritably.

“I didn’t mean to do it!” Lev assured him rubbing his forehead with his hands.

While the gray-haired one looked up hoping that the blow on his forehead didn’t leave a mark although a pink stripe had already begun to contrast with the pallor of his skin, Yaku took one look at the Hufflepuff’s shield that lay in one of the corners of the uniform he was wearing. He knew who he was but they had never spoke before.

“What are you doing here? Gryffindor’s practice is about to begin," Yaku said.

“I wanted to introduce myself!” Lev exclaimed along with a smile that seemed to have forgotten the blow he received a few seconds ago.

Yaku raised an eyebrow as he lowered his broom. “Why?”

“I'm Haiba Lev!”

The fifth-year ignored his question while the other one continued to watch him.

Introduce himself he said?

He knew who he was. The fifth-year Hufflepuff who usually spent his time with Bokuto, Kuroo, and Terushima, from whom Yaku learned that while he maintained good relations with the three of them, he had to stay away when the three of them got together since Intelligence seemed to be put aside and be replaced with jokes and laughter that only attracted trouble. In addition, Lev's sister had been in Gryffindor during her last year while they were in second, so he recognized Lev's grayish hair and greenish look when he passed in front of everyone for the Sorting Hat to be rested on his head. Slowly he started seeing him beginning to get along with those from his own house as well to realize that that good communication eventually extended to the Slytherin student who accepted him without any problem.

And he also knew that he had become one of the new incorporations on the Hufflepuff’s team.

The Gryffindor team’s guardian continued to watch him for a few more seconds.

"Yaku ... Morisuke Yaku," He introduced himself. Lev never stopped holding a big smile. “Why are you here?” Yaku asked him for the second time.

“You’re Gryffindor’s guardian, and I am now a Hufflepuff’s chaser!”

Yaku rested his broom on the lawn to cross his arms.

"I'm not the only guardian of Gryffindor, just like you aren’t the only Hufflepuff chaser.”

“But we are the best!”

The seventh-year allowed a giggle to escape from his lips.

“Are you saying that you are better than Bokuto and Asahi?” He asked him, intrigued.

He watched him wondering if the gray-haired one made statements without thinking about them before, or if that was his way of threatening him by assuring him that if he considered himself better than the other two chasers on the Hufflepuff team, then he should stay alert and train for when his houses would face each other.

“Why are you looking at me so much?” Lev ignored his question “Is it because of my height?” He added, making Yaku's curious look to be replaced by a serious one because he knew the words he would say before he said them himself “It’s normal for someone as short as you to feel intimidated by my height.”

A vein seemed to appear on the seventh-year’s forehead, who uncrossed his arms and instead of giving him a second blow with his broomstick, preferred to use his own leg to kick him in the side of his body because there were few people who still dared to make fun of his few centimeters, and Lev complained while Yaku looked back at him with a frown until they both heard a great laugh.

"Never mention anything about his height," Yamamoto said laughing.

Yaku did nothing but flick his tongue before giving another look to the gray-haired one that rubbed that part of his body, and took his broom before riding on it to separate himself from the lawn and approach one of the trios of hoops, because just like Yamamoto, the rest of the team had arrived as well.

* * *

 

Daichi could assure that it was an interesting second practice.

Strange, but interesting after all.

Both he and Yaku were glad that Kageyama reappeared even though last time he decided to leave in the middle of training and despite the peculiar manner in which he treated the others, and as soon as Daichi mentioned to him that day they would repeat the try-outs to join the team because the first ones didn’t achieve the results they had expected, Kageyama's face stopped being so serious. Again he was paired with Hinata, who gave him a pleasant smile instead of looking at him with horror like the last time, and Tanaka, who at that time thanks to his serious expression and the lack of words that weren’t characteristic of him, stated that he didn’t seem to be willing to rile up the others in a funny way like he always did.

And the match turned out to be more entertaining as well as dynamic for everyone.

Daichi didn’t know if it was because life was rewarding him for all the effort he had made and the patience he had gained through the years, but between Tanaka's decision to remain serene instead of complaining when a point wasn’t committed or screaming with excitement when he passed the quaffle between some of the hoops, Kageyama's terrible attitude that was replaced with snorts that were provoked because Hinata watched him as soon as he saw that he was about to complain loudly or to attack some of the others present, and the energy of the orange-haired one that was evident even though he could only receive half of Kageyama's passes, made the game a fun thing to play.

And although Daichi wasn’t entirely satisfied as well as Yaku either because they believed that the potential of the fifth-year duo could improve much more from what they had seen when they flew around the castle and won a detention for the same, they smiled convinced when all descended from their brooms. Inuoka had already been said that he had joined the team so he smiled broadly hoping that his roommate would achieve the same.

Hinata remained expectant while Kageyama looked serious.

He wasn’t satisfied with himself as well as with the passes he made because he firmly believed that he could have developed better, but the reality was that there was nothing he wanted more than to join the Gryffindor’s quidditch team, so every time he was prepared to let go and allow furious words to leave his mouth because he also believed that the players around him had the potential to be better, he watched Hinata reminding him to be respectful when talking or to remain silent.

There was a lack of communication and an increase in the spirit of companionship.

"Well, welcome to the team," Daichi said, watching them with a smile.

But that didn’t mean they would lose the opportunity that was presented to them.

Yaku nodded to demonstrate his consent as vice-captain.

Hinata started jumping out of emotion and was soon embraced by Inuoka so that both of them would continue jumping after celebrating that they finally managed to join the team and that now, in addition to being considered roommates and best friends, they were also teammates. Kageyama held up a small smile that was replaced by a frown when he noticed that the orange-haired one was watching him while holding his thumbs up, until his expression softened and both the captain and the vice-captain laughed because they were definitely facing a challenge.

“Has practice finished?” Tanaka asked suddenly.

Daichi's attention to the fifth-year trio was diverted to him when he heard him. And after nodding, Tanaka left.

Usually he was one of the players who most enjoyed training and allowed his ownself to express his emotions through gestures and noisy words accompanied by equally loud laughter, so Yaku approached Nishinoya while he kept his things as the others begun to do the same because practice was over.

“What is it with Tanaka?” He asked him.

"I don’t know, he's in a bad mood," The other Gryffindor’s guardian replied.

He was called by Yamamoto so Yaku couldn’t continue asking questions, although he took advantage of the sixth-year deciding to leave early to follow Daichi and tell him about his encounter with the Hufflepuff chaser while Inuoka and Hinata were the last to be keeping his things after being distracted from jumping from one side to the other, although a voice stopped the orange-haired one before he could left the field of quidditch.

“Want to practice?”

Kageyama's tone of voice was low but Hinata managed to hear it.

Inuoka waved at him before the orange-haired boy approached Kageyama smiling after having returned to hold his broom in hand. Both seemed to continue to count with energy even though they played all afternoon, showing that both were happy enough to keep moving on their brooms, and also because, having been accepted into the official Gryffindor quidditch team, they now had the opportunity to continue practicing on the quidditch’s field.

However, they were interrupted before they could begin.

"I think Kindaichi lied to us when he said you can’t play with others," Futakuchi said.

"Or maybe he told us the truth and he's just pretending so he doesn’t have to train alone,” Yahaba added.

Kageyama scowled at them both when he heard the name of one of his former teammates as well as the rest of their words, and the Slytherin sixth-year duo who were on the side of the field smiled satisfied after seeing his reaction, although soon their faces changed when the one they didn’t pay attention to, spoke.

"The field is still Gryffindor’s for today," Hinata stated.

He had recognized them not only because of their green ties of silvery lines they were wearing, but also because although he only had two practices, he managed to hear both Yamamoto and Tanaka complaining about the Slytherin duo that at that moment rested their eyes on the one who usually would hide behind someone taller when someone seemed to look for a fight, although that didn’t prevent him from raising his fists and expressing a few words, but it wasn’t to his liking for people to talk about Kageyama as if they knew him and could only judge him because of the circumstances of the previous year, because despite the serious look he had and his terrible way of talking to others, Hinata believed that he was a great player and that under all that anger, there were good intentions.

Yahaba opened his mouth, but he and the others heard a whistle.

They all turned their eyes to the same area of the stands where the noise had come from, and where they glimpsed Suga waving at them calmly with a smile on his face behind which the Slytherin duo understood that they should leave the field of quidditch before he decided to go down to take them even if he had to drag them. Yahaba and Futakuchi glared at the fifth-year duo before they stopped being there, while Hinata and Kageyama returned in a clumsy and unconscious manner the greeting with their hands to the one who seemed to laugh at their reactions before doing the same as those of his own house and also leave the stands so they could resume their activities.

"We will win them right here," Hinata stated when they were alone.

The mere fact of imagining those of the house that considered theirself a rival to his own, and realizing that he could think of that because he was now officially part of the Gryffindor quidditch team, managed to make a tremor of emotion run through his body from feet to head. Kageyama watched him out of the corner of his eye, and although he remained serious about the words that the Slytherin duo had addressed to him, he felt that enthusiasm invaded him.

* * *

 

"I'll kill them with my own hands," Iwaizumi declared raising the sleeve of his uniform.

Daishou cleared his throat at the same time that Matsukawa and Hanamaki exchanged glances with each other while Oikawa stopped his best friend, although he didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to take a look at the muscles he hold to prevent Iwaizumi turning his words into something real. Kindaichi seemed uncomfortable with an expression of frustration on his face, and Suga continued sitting on the lawn with a face similar to that of the fifth-year.

Kuroo's body tension and serious face only increased when he realized that the absence of the sixth-year duo on the quidditch course wasn’t due to the fact that they had detention or because they were arriving late, but because they really decided not to show up at that day's training, and he didn’t need someone to say it out loud to know that they weren’t there because they didn’t agree about the decision that was made regarding the captaincy and the leadership of the team, which also achieved to his desire to coordinate a second training to be replaced by a feeling of rejection of himself. Kuroo understood that he wasn’t as close to them as he was to the rest of his classmates of his same year, but he thought that although Yahaba always spent his time with Oikawa because the two had a great friendship, he would appear because he turned out to be a beater just like him, and that Futakuchi would be with him.

He didn’t understand what he did to be rejected in that way because he didn’t even show how he could coordinate the team, and Suga watched him out of the corner of his eye because he was sure that the sixth duo would show up as he thought that spotting them the other day before looking for a fight with the fifth-year duo who were officially part of the Gryffindor’s quidditch team, would be enough motivation for them to show up for training, but he realized that he misunderstood the situation and they only sought to bother the other ones because it was clear that they wouldn’t show up in the training.

Meanwhile, Kindaichi remained frustrated because he hoped that after being accepted into the quidditch team of his house, he would enjoy participating in training because even though Oikawa wasn’t choice as captain, he still was the vice-captain, and although he didn’t knew Kuroo that well, if Oikawa and Iwaizumi trusted him to guide them, then so would he. But it was his first practice as one of the official players of the team, and instead of being mounted on his broom playing with those who had once been his teammates, and who again were, he was observing how worried everyone around him seemed to be.

“Practice’s canceled.”

Everyone stopped focusing on their own thoughts and rested their eyes on Kuroo when he expressed those words.

“We won’t train if the whole team isn’t there.” He added.

The last thing he wanted was to cancel the time they could spend on the Quidditch’s field, but he didn’t want to lead an incomplete team as well as players who would concentrate on thinking that two of their teammates were absent for obvious reasons instead of focusing on the practice.

"Of course we’ll train," Oikawa contradicted him“I won’t stop playing quidditch just because some decided not to show up and don’t do their part.” It was the only thing he added before going to the box of materials.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa exchanged glances with each other to smile in the same amused way and didn’t hesitate to mount on their brooms to gain height at the same time that Daishou took the opportunity to copy them and go to one of the trios of hoops that he was used to defend. Kindaichi imitated them when he saw Iwaizumi nodding, who approached Suga and extended his arms to him.

Kuroo spotted the gray-haired boy giving him a sidelong glance as well as giving him a sideways smile before returning his gaze to Iwaizumi and continuing to smile as he accepted his hands to get up, and they both climbed on their brooms to join the others in the air. Oikawa appeared with one arm extended towards him while holding the quaffle under the other, and Kuroo watched him.

"I don’t beg," said the boy with brownish hair.

Kuroo smiled when he heard him, and decided to accept his hand to get up.

Oikawa looked at him giving him a true smile that assured him that no matter what some of the other members of the team they both coordinated do, they continued to be the leaders, and as long as there were other players willing to accept that decision as well as to play quidditch with them, then they had to show that they were really ready to guide them despite the circumstances around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Bokuto declares its captain squad time.


	19. Chapter 19

Bokuto held a broad smile that was imitated by Daichi while Akaashi continued to tear leaves from the lawn with no expression on his face, and Kuroo observed his best friend totally confused.

"Bokuto, when I said I needed help, I’m sure I didn’t mean this," He said.

The only Slytherin present sitting in the round didn’t expect that after mentioning to the Hufflepuff what had happened the previous day during the quidditch practice, the same one would decide to recruit the other two captains of the other teams who decided to make themselves present, making Kuroo wondered if it was because they really wanted to be there or because they agreed to do so before Bokuto continued to beg them.

“We are all captains! It's our duty as captains to support each other!” Bokuto exclaimed extending his arms.

"I'm not sure that's true," The Ravenclaw pointed out.

“Akaashi! You must back me up every now and then!”

The two black-haired ones who shared totally different bonds with Kenma, stared at each other. Kuroo thought he knew why Akaashi observed him that way, though he didn’t realize that another thought was stuck in the Ravenclaw's brain.

"I think it's a good idea," Daichi expressed suddenly, drawing the attention of the other three after also realizing the sudden tension that was created between two of the captains “It’s true that we are the four captains, so talking to each other if someone has a problem is not a bad idea.”

“Will we make braids witch each other too?”

After speaking with evident sarcasm, Kuroo hugged his knees before resting his chin on them.

"I wouldn’t be worried if I were you," Akaashi alleged “Those who didn’t show up in your training have never been characterized as the most reliable anyway," He added, because thanks to Bokuto, both he and Daichi were already aware of what had happened in the quidditch field during the previous afternoon.

Kuroo looked at him with a slight frown, because although they were sitting in a round because the Slytherin duo of the same year as the Ravenclaw captain missed the practices and therefore made his confidence decrease, he didn’t believe Akaashi could give himself the luxury of mentioning those words after not knowing them.

“Why don’t you talk to them?” Daichi asked, don’t understanding the tension that appeared and disappeared among the captains of the houses of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and who also realized why during the first days of classes, Kuroo had asked him how he managed to be heard by the rest of his team.

“Because they wouldn’t listen to him,” Bokuto answered with a smile.

Even though he stopped keeping his mouth curved when Daichi rested his gaze on him.

"I just don’t understand," Kuroo said, his golden and disappointed gaze focused on the lawn “I don't understand what I did for them to not want me as their captain.”

The three who decided to join him, observed the one who finally decided to speak on the subject.

Why was he the only one whose team didn’t seem willing to accept him as a leader?

Was it such a pity that even the other three captains seemed to be afflicted by him?

He was thankful that those of his own year decided to carry on the practice even though they hadn’t all been present, and had even laughed while they played as well as told several anecdotes about his years at Hogwarts, some of which possibly left some traumas in the head of Kindaichi that at no time felt out of place just for being the only fifth-year surrounded by seventh-year students who knew each other more than well. But that didn’t take away the fact that two players missed training to clarify that they didn’t agree with his new position on the team. 

Daichi looked at him with a grimace while Akaashi intercepted his gaze between Kuroo and Bokuto, the latter showing that he was certainly worried about his best friend since his face was characterized by a pout. Maybe his intention to get the other captains had been good because he really wanted to raise the mood of his best friend, but if Kuroo couldn't switch his way of thinking, there would be nothing he could do even if he had managed to get the other two captains to be present.

* * *

 

After Daichi said goodbye to them, Bokuto and Akaashi continued walking side by side in silence. The first one seemed to be with his head in another place while the second looked at him closely, not needing to wonder why instead of talking nonstop and along with a smile as he always did, Bokuto was silent for that time. And once they arrived at the doors of the Ravenclaw common room, Akaashi decided to exchange roles after being the first one to speak.

"I'm sorry," He expressed looking at him, managing to catch the other's attention with just saying those words. "I know you want Kuroo-san to be fine, but there is nothing Daichi-san and I can do if he continues to be guided by the actions of the ones of my same year. And besides, I don't think that my presence contributes much. It's not that I'm not attracted to the idea of forming a certain special bond just because we are captains, but Kenma is my best friend just like Kuroo-san is yours. So excuse me, but don't expect me to pat Kuroo-san's back to lift his spirits when I can't even see him."

Akaashi didn't hesitate to be honest. He wasn't one of the people who used to pretend when they met with people who wasn't of his liking, nor was he the kind of person who held a smile on his face even if the situation made him want to do the opposite, so he didn't doubt to be honest with Bokuto, since although he preferred to be honest, he wanted him tounderstood why he had been the one of the four to have spoken less.

"I know," Bokuto gave him a small smile before scratching the back of his neck. "Kuroo has also been feeling down because of his relationship with Kenma," He said, unaware that for a small second, Akaashi narrowed his eyes after wondering why the Slytherin apparently felt the same as his Kenma when it came to them. "It's just that, just as you want to see Kenma well, I want to see Kuroo well." He added "Thanks for coming anyway."

"You asked me, so,"

"Yeah," Bokuto held a calm smile on his face.

"I would like to say that I will talk to Futakuchi and Yahaba to ask them why they decided to quit the practice of quidditch, but I don't talk to them either," The sixth-year opted to say, knowing that maybe that possibility had surfaced in the heads of those who were a year older than him.

"Akaashi, you don't like Slytherins!"

"I prefer Ravenclaws," He said, realizing that he simply didn't have many people around him who wore the green and silver colors because he didn't talk to them, and not because he had any solid opinion about them. "And Hufflepuffs," He added after a few seconds.

"I think I have no preference," Bokuto began to say, thinking about those with whom he used to spend his time instead of realizing the intensity in the blue eyes of the one who was present with him. "I mean, I get along with the vast majority, and all those who say that Hufflepuffs and Slytherins can't be friends, are wrong because Kuroo and I are the proof," He placed his hands on the sides of his waist before smiling proudly "I also get along well with Daichi and the others, but I think I have a special spot for Ravenclaws."

"But I've never seen you talking to my housemates."

"Then I guess I have a special spot for you," Bokuto looked at him with an animated smile that was imitated in Akaashi's face, though for less time and in a less visible way. "Anyway, I've already bothered you a lot for today. Thanks for coming, and I appreciate it more knowing you've done it even if you don't get along with Kuroo as much as I do."

"You don't bother me," Akaashi assured him, joining his own hands behind his back.

Bokuto smiled excitedly after hearing him, and then he waved his hand as he started to walk backwards. Akaashi greeted him in the same way, and once the Hufflepuff turned around, he entered the common room of his house after answering easily the riddle that the eagle present in the entrance asked him. 

“Where were you?” Kenma asked him once he entered the room they shared.

The one with dyed blond hair remained lying on his bed as well as concentrated on the electronic device in his hands while Ennoshita was in his own bed face down reading a book. Akaashi sat on the edge of his own bed.

"With the other team captains of the teams," He answered.

His two roommates stopped concentrating on their respective hobbies to rest their intrigued looks on him, because although he and the seventh-year trio occupied the same role in their teams, they maintained various types of relationships with each other.

“Why?”

“Futakuchi and Yahaba decided not to attend the Slytherin practice yesterday afternoon.”

Ennoshita laid down his book as well as Kenma turned off the screen of the electronic object as soon as they heard him, because although Bokuto didn’t hesitate to gather the leaders of the other teams, he didn’t run around the halls of the castle shouting about the absence of the sixth-year duo in the Quidditch field, which explained why the two of them just learned about what happened.

"I'll guess," Said the one who had been reading until a few seconds ago “Captaincy problems,“ A smile that no one else could spot appeared on Ennoshita's face when Akaashi nodded.

“What did Kuroo say?” Kenma asked.

"Not much," Akaashi replied.

He also didn’t formulated many words, since mostly Bokuto and Daichi were those in trying to reassure Kuroo that everything would be fine and that he didn’t need to worry, and that he should focus on the fact that the rest of the team showed up and decided to train instead of focusing on those two didn’t. But the fact that he didn’t express words of support because he didn’t consider himself a fake person, didn’t mean that he remained aloof from the situation. He never believed that the Slytherin he knew for being arrogant and holding a daring smile on his face most of the time, could also allow frustration and sorrows to take over his expression and his manner of functioning.

"He's sad," He added.

Akaashi didn’t need to be close to him, nor did he need to know him perfectly to note that the Slytherin captain was distressed by the situation, although Bokuto had also left it in evidence after he also remained worried.

Kenma looked at the room’s ceiling.

And while he hated himself for knowing that the pressure in his chest was due to the worry he begun to experience for someone who he didn’t want to feel anything, Akaashi glanced at the owl's stuffed toy that remained on his bedside table, and Ennoshita raised an eyebrow before hiding the trace of a smile behind the book he held again in front of his face.

* * *

“Why didn’t you go?”

“Because I didn’t want to?” Yahaba asked as if it was something obvious.

Watari looked at him seriously and the Slytherin rolled his eyes.

"You love playing Quidditch," The Hufflepuff said “Why didn’t you go to practice?”

Yahaba observed him, not being surprised of Watari knowing that he skipped training since it was enough for some of his housemates and students of the other three houses to look at him letting him know they knew he had been absent during practice, although he didn’t care if others knew. But it wasn’t for him to explain why he and Futakuchi decided to skip practice, so he shrugged.

“It’s because Oikawa isn’t the captain?” Watari asked him.

He couldn’t understand why his best friend decided to skip the training that his teammates had when he knew that Yahaba loved to play and never before proved himself reluctant to practice with those, with whom he also knew that he maintained very good relationships, which made him think that it was even stranger to him to decide to skip it.

“I listen to who I want no matter captain or not,” Yahaba answered.

Watari snorted, but then looked at him seriously.

“It’s not… It's not because ... it's not because of him, right?” He managed to ask, seeming to be certainly afraid to pronounce those words.

“What do you mean?”

Yahaba stared at him trying to understand why it seemed that his best friend feared asking that question, until the Hufflepuff managed to make him realize who he was talking about, and therefore he didn’t hesitate to shake his head as well as feel that his throat was suddenly dry and half the air disappeared.

"No, of course not." He assured him without hesitation.

Watari seemed relieved to hear him. "Whatever it is making you miss practice, just stop." He insisted.

The Hufflepuff seemed to want to add more words when he realized that Yahaba wouldn’t listen to him even though he asked him to act maturely and responsibly, but he was interrupted when Terushima exclaimed his name, that being the first time that the one with the piercing in his tongue only waved to Yahaba instead of joining their conversation, because he knew that if he came to talk, then he would change his homework night with his housemate for a night of words accompanied by the two of them and probably also Futakuchi.

Yahaba greeted him with his hand with enthusiasm after that being his way of thanking him for interrupting Watari so that he wouldn’t continue to reprimand him even though he didn’t do it on purpose. The Hufflepuff in front of him stared at him before saying goodbye to him and going with his housemate who didn’t hesitate to hug him sideways, and Yahaba took the opportunity to return to his room with his hands in his pockets and a serious expression. He entered his common room and rolled his eyes before the two people he spotted standing up as soon as he entered, approached him to remain crossed arms side by side.

"Young man, we have to talk," Hanamaki stated looking at him.

"We won’t tolerate this kind of behavior," Matsukawa added.

"For the umpteenth time, you are not my parents," Was the only thing Yahaba expressed before taking advantage of the space they left between them to pass and hear an expression of offense on the part of the pink-haired one followed by a statement by Matsukawa that assured him that he was their son.

He managed to advance other steps until he was stopped again.

"You won’t get rid of me that easy," Oikawa assured him with a smile too natural to be considered honest.

Yahaba looked at him with a tired expression and continued serious when Hanamaki and Matsukawa passed while sticking their tongues out at him and mocking him because he was stopped anyway, so he chose to cross his arms and form a slight pout with his lips to which Oikawa giggled.

“Are you okay?”

 Yahaba replaced the pout with a grimace of confusion when he heard the question.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know, I ask because it’s difficult for me to understand why you decided to skip practice.”

Yahaba allowed an obvious complaint to leave his lips.

He was tired of everyone trying to talk to him about his absence during training in the quidditch field since it wasn’t the first time a student missed one, but he was also aware that everyone around him knew that he wasn’t absent because he had to study for an exam, because he got detention, because he couldn’t get out of bed since being sick, or because he got an injury.

“Do you want to talk about it?’” Oikawa asked him.

"Not really,"

He appreciated that the one in front of him cared for him, but he didn’t consider it a moment for them to hold one of their talks that began with advices to keep their skins healthy and neat, and that always ended with both talking about the greatest mysteries of the world.

“You know that eventually I'll bother you until you tell me something.”

“I know.”

Oikawa sighed when he realized that for the moment he wouldn’t get anything assuring him that he would torment him until he told him the reason why he decided to miss training, so he pointed to the stairs with his head and Yahaba rolled his eyes before going there to later go to his room where his roommate already was.

“I’m so tired of everyone,” Was the only thing Yahaba mentioned before laying face down on the body of the one who let out a giggle when his best friend fell on top of him with a grimace of displeasure, but then Futakuchi remained serious when he didn’t hesitate to think that he had expressed those words because probably a lot of people tried to talk to him about the reason why both decided to be absent in the quidditch field.

"I'm sorry," Futakuchi said looking at the boy lying on his lap.

Yahaba raised his head before settling down and sitting next to him. "Don’t be," He gave him a small smile. Futakuchi smiled sideways after hearing him and seeing the gesture on his face, but anyway he hated that Yahaba didn’t doubt to stand by his side only because they were best friends, when Futakuchi deep down knew he was doing the wrong thing. “Want to hear something stupidly ridiculous?” Yahaba asked before he could begin to wonder into his own thoughts “Watari thought I did it for him.”

“Why would you skip practice for Watari?”

"Not him," He sighed "He.” Yahaba added in a serious tone of voice.

Futakuchi only took a few seconds to realize who he was talking about, so he understood the grimace of annoyance his best friend held as well as why he returned to settle on his lap.

“Can I sleep with you today?” Yahaba asked him.

“Of course,” Futakuchi didn’t hesitate to answer.

Allowing him to sleep by his side was the least he could do after lying to him.

The two of them began to prepare to go to sleep as there was little time left for curfew and they knew that Suga always went through their corridor more than once because he was aware that they sometimes liked to be out of their beds, and they also knew that they couldn’t dare to test the patience of the gray-haired one, so while they decided not to leave their room to bother the Miya brothers, in the common room Oikawa decided to take place next to Iwaizumi in one of the armchairs. They knew that soon they should be in their room, but they became so used to leaving it so that Hanamaki and Matsukawa could find themselves alone, that being in the common room was the same as being in the room.

Iwaizumi observed the brown hair of the boy who seemed to have become accustomed to rest his head on his lap or on one of his shoulders, having chosen the second option at that moment, wondering what he thought about the whole situation in reference with the team to which both belonged, since although Oikawa had been the one to indicate that practice shouldn’t be canceled only because two decided to skip, he also knew that he cared deeply for Yahaba as he had showed after intercepting his path a few minutes ago, as well as for Futakuchi. He believed that he was already fulfilling his role as vice-captain by not allowing Kuroo to end the practice and having everyone distract themselves by talking about all the moments they shared since they had met, as well as wanting to know why the sixth-year duo decided to miss.

“I can feel you looking at me, Iwa-chan. You want to know what I think, don’t you?”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes because Oikawa didn’t even have to look at him to know what was going through his mind, and although he tried to move away from him to look at him with a frown, he only managed to get Oikawa's head to rest on his chest when he chose to stop lending him his shoulder as a pillow after resting his elbow on the back of the sofa as well as his chin on the palm of his hand. He heard the boy with brown hair give a little laugh. 

"I don’t care," Iwaizumi lied.

Oikawa smiled after knowing he was lying.

"I think Shigeru-chan and Kenji-chan are acting the way they do for something that is not necessarily related to who is captain and who isn’t," He inquired anyway, making Iwaizumi look down at him “There's no point in being absent just because Tetsu-chan is the captain. They never listen to anyone, so occupying a certain role shouldn’t be an impediment to not show up, since they don’t care that Tetsu-chan is the captain and I the vice-captain. You could be the captain and Makki the vice-captain and they wouldn’t care either. They didn’t even listen to the captain last year and he was demanding. So I don’t think our designated roles are what are bothering them. Because, besides, I don’t doubt that Shigeru-chan would have told me that he doesn’t think that Tetsu-chan should be captain if he really thought that," He said “Although it’s clear that Tetsu-chan doesn’t think in the same way as I do and believes that the two are skipping for being against him, about which I can’t blame him either because I don’t doubt that his insecurities are eating him down. I only know that if Shigeru-chan and Kenji-chan continue to behave as if they are five years old instead of sixteen, it’ll be a matter of time before they start to feel the anger of many people over them.”

“That includes us, right?”

“Of course.”

Iwaizumi didn’t analyze the situation as much as Oikawa, and he didn’t care if the sixth-year duo missed because it bothered them that Kuroo was the new captain instead of Oikawa, or because they had another reason for not showing up. He only knew that he didn’t like to feel that nobody was enjoying the training because no matter what position each one occupied, everyone on the team was affected when they weren’t in full equilibrium, as well as that little by little an atmosphere of tension was beginning to decorate the common room all of them shared.

“Iwa-chan, I'm cold,” He heard Oikawa said.

It was a couple of days until a month had passed since classes started, so the cold October was beginning to show as the Hogwarts gardens begun to lose their greenish color to be replaced by fallen leaves of trees lifeless. In addition, they were in the dungeons and near the Black Lake, so it would be a matter of time for them to add blankets to their beds and use scarfs around their necks.

“And I’m tired.”

“Iwa-chan!”

“And what do you want me to do?"

Oikawa crossed his arms and Iwaizumi saw him inflate his cheeks as well as frown to show he was protesting.

“Futakuchi and Yahaba aren’t the only ones looking like five years old," He added.

Oikawa snorted after hearing his words, but soon a smile settled on his lips when the arm that Iwaizumi had been leaving on the back of the sofa, suddenly crossed over his shoulders to be able to surround him and make him close even more. The brown-haired one uncrossed his arms and continued smiling after feeling very comfortable under the warm protection provided by the body and arm of his best friend, who was grateful that Oikawa couldn’t see his face even though he remained as serious as ever. He didn’t believe the one with brown hair would distrust him after hugging him like that since he expressed he was cold and for the moment he seemed to be happy with the arm that he had wrapped him, but he didn’t want to start thinking too much even though he knew that he didn’t have any problem in case Oikawa always wanted to be like that with him, although he realized that he seemed to have stopped thinking when he realized he begun to caress Oikawa's shoulder with his thumb after his hand remained in that part of his body, and he didn’t hesitate to stop doing so as soon as he realized.

"Go on," He heard Oikawa say “I don’t mind.”

Although at first he hesitated and remained a few seconds looking at him, Iwaizumi resumed the caresses on his shoulder while a look of frustration appeared on his face. He didn’t think it was fair that Oikawa could remain completely calm when he was embraced by him while he was barely able to make his face not to leave him in evidence, hoping that the boy with brown hair wouldn’t be able to heart the beat of his heart just because his head was resting near it.

"Shittykawa," He murmured.

“And now what did I do?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Nishinoya wants everyone to be happy.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday night I went out and the only thing that went through my mind the whole time was: why did I leave home. I swear I transformed myself into Kenma BUT at least it gave me the motivation to write a one shot where all Haikyuu characters are at a party. I had already started one but I left it abandoned, so maybe I'll take a look at it again. And then today I went to a book fair and I was like Hinata being all gwyaaa and woaaa and I bought It from Stephen King, so if you ask I'll be reading. Kidding, I have to study.  
> I think some of you may be preparing for finals so good luck!! And those who don't, I envy you. I truly do.
> 
> Previously on the story, Kenma approached Kuroo to congratulate him for being captain, Lev appeared before the Gryffindor practice to introduce himself to Yaku, Tanaka noted that Ennoshita actes strange around him, and Yamaguchi confessed to Tsukishima what he feels, not having expected for him to tell him that he feels the same.

After letting out a sigh, Kuroo stood up for the fifth time.

‘Congratulations.’

A single word.

A thousands of guesses.

“I just don’t get it. Congratulations? Congratulations for what?”

He began to move from one side to the other in front of the Hufflepuff table, where his best friend was sitting silent, both because it was morning and the breakfast hours, so he still hand’t eat enough food to be as energetic as ever, and because the one in front of him preferred to have a conversation with himself while he pursued him with his eyes at the same time he let out a yawn. Bokuto was one of the most energetic people in Hogwarts, but even sometimes he needed to spend a few seconds concentrating solely on breakfast.

“Was it sarcasm? Did he say congratulations in the sense of, congratulations for ruining our friendship? Congratulations for making me want to be away from you and never see you again?”

The Slytherin kept his frown the same as when he was having a difficult time in some exam. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground and seemed to analyze the situation from every possible point of view, since giving space to Kenma didn’t mean that he managed to remove him from his mind. And even less since he suddenly decided to approach him to only express a word in his presence.

A word that had unchained his confusion.

'Congratulations.'

“Congratulations for making him and I take different ways? Congratulations for what? And what if he didn’t say it in a sarcastic way?”

Kuroo took his head with both hands after deciding to sit down in front of his friend after getting tired and realize that walking from one side to the other didn’t help him to clear his mind. And Bokuto, who besides not yet being extremely awaken, remained silent and calm when Kuroo started talking about Kenma, being those the few moments when he wasn’t jumping or talking loudly, observed him still somewhat asleep while continuing to hold a cup of hot chocolate in his hands.

“Haven’t you thought that maybe he simply congratulated you for obtaining the captaincy?” He asked once the boy in front of him finally withdrew in silence instead of continuing to argue with his ownself.

Kuroo raised his upper lip as a sign of disgust, and didn’t hesitate to hit Bokuto's head after hearing him, seeming to wake him up completely after Bokuto opened his amber eyes and observe him with a frown.

“And why didn’t you say it before!?”

“For not telling me you're captain!”

Bokuto stuck out his tongue while Kuroo moved his arms with his fists closed to indicate that he would start a fight with him even though he was asleep and barely an hour had passed since he got up, although he understood that his best friend would reproach him not to have told him when they always revealed any insignificant detail of their lives to each other, but still continued to move his arms when Bokuto opted to leave his cup to imitate him.

“Next time don’t let me break my head thinking!”

“Next time tell me you occupy the same role as me in your team!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“How’s the hot chocolate today?!”

“Really sweet! Do you want some?!”

Sitting far enough away from them as to not be able to hear the conversation between them, but close enough to see the pair of friends threating their arms to then return to normal and pass a cup between them, Konoha watched them completely confused without being impressed at all with the changing behavior of the duo even if it wasn’t nine o'clock in the morning.

“You know, I didn’t thank you the other day, but, thanks for trying to cheer me up. It didn’t work much, but, I thank you anyway." Kuroo expressed with the hot chocolate cup in his hands at the same time that his best friend smiled after listening to him.

“It’s nothing!” Bokuto exclaimed smiling animatedly, breakfast already having an effect on his vivid personality. Although after a few seconds, he looked at his best friend seriously when he remained watching the content inside the cup seeming to be with his thoughts elsewhere. “You know you can ask me for a bros hug whenever you want, right?” He added, since if talking to the other captains wasn’t of great help, then he only had the option of giving him that affectionate gesture.

Kuroo raised his head, and smiled sideways. Quidditch was bringing him more problems than joys, he couldn’t talk about it with Kenma because he continued to avoid him, but at least his best friend was still the same as always. 

* * *

Yachi and Yamaguchi walked towards the Hufflepuff common room once the class of Herbology was over since they had essays to write as well as homework to complete and spells to be practiced. The blonde gave a sidelong glance to the boy next to her, since during the whole class, and during all the previous ones as well, he had kept silent and the usual thing was that the opposite happened, since Herbology was one of his favorite subjects.

“Are you okay?” She decided to ask him. ”You have been quiet all day. You didn’t even answer in Herbology and it's one of your favorite subjects," Yachi added, since she was used to him being the first to raise his hand to answer the teacher's questions in class, not to that he seemed to be with his mind elsewhere.

"I just have a lot in my head," Yamaguchi replied, giving her a short sideways smile that didn’t convince her.

“Everything is alright?” She asked again. “I thought you would be extremely happy after Tsukishima told you he feels the same for you," She added, since the Yamaguchi who had happily told her that the Ravenclaw's blond had confessed that he also wanted more than a friendship, seemed to have been replaced by someone whose emotions had been betrayed.

“And what if he doesn’t?”

“And what if he doesn’t?” Yachi repeated lost, and suddenly the fear was reflected in her eyes when she understood the meaning of those words. “He doesn’t!? I thought he said yes! Oh, this is my fault!” She added quickly, panic evident in the quick manner in which she uttered all the string of words that left her mouth in a reckless manner. “I shouldn’t have given you courage to tell him how you feel! Now you don’t want to be my friend and you'll think I'm a bad friend, and what-“

“Yachi,”

“-if you don’t want to talk to me again? I mean, I don’t regret telling you to talk to him because it's better to say things instead of repressing our emotions and-“

“Yachi,”

“-I know that sometimes life is unfair and that we can’t expect everything to go the way we want them to, but if he doesn’t correspond to your feelings then I can assure you that he is the one who truly loses because you are a great person!”

Yamaguchi opened his mouth again to pronounce her name to get her attention because she was again allowing fear to take over her and her way of thinking, but an inevitable giggle left his lips.

“Thank you,” He decided to say after Yachi seemed to have stop letting panic be part of her. “He truly said he feels the same for me. But I'm not sure I like the reasons why he said it.”

“What do you mean?”

“What if he only felt sorry for me?”

“But I've seen you both on Konoha-san's birthday. That didn’t seem like pity for me. Have you talked to him about this? With feelings or not, he’s still your best friend and I’m sure he wouldn’t like to know that you have been feeling down, much less if it has to do with him. You were able to confess how you feel even if you didn’t plan to. Talking with him about this should be easy.”

Yamaguchi let out a sigh. “I guess.”

“You know we can’t live with a pile of ‘what if?’.”

“I know, but...” Yamaguchi didn’t find any excuse to contradict her.

Yachi was right. If he had been able to confess to Tsukishima how he felt without fainting in the process, then he should be able to tell him how he felt at that moment. So instead of continuing to complain or allowing his housemate to worry about him, he gave her a smile before letting her know that he would look for the blond to talk to him, and after Yachi greeted him with a wave of her hand, he went to the library because he knew that the Ravenclaw would be there.

He was no longer worried that Tsukishima didn’t correspond to his emotions, but that he was faking them.

He was aware that each person showed their feelings as they could and wanted, and that each person was a different world and expressed themselves in the way they were used to, but inevitably doubts had begun to settle in his head at the time in which he had allowed questions to whip him.

Most of the time he had imagined confessing to Tsukishima how he felt, in all the results he had seen himself running to his room to remain depressed because there was no way the blond could feel the same for him. He had always imagined Yachi expressing encouraging words, Lev patting him on the back, and Koganegawa bringing ice cream pots to lift his spirits, so he had remained somewhat disoriented since Tsukishima had actually told him that he felt the same way. Because while he believed that he should be happy that reality had resulted to be the opposite of his thoughts, after getting accustomed to the ideas and scenes that his head had projected, his mind was beginning to go from one side to the other, the reality mixing with his imagination. Doubts had accumulated in his head, and thus, he had begun to wonder if Tsukishima had assured him that he felt the same for him because he really did, or because he hadn’t wanted the friendship between them to turn into something strange, resulting in him to choosing to mention that he felt the same even if it wasn’t so just so that the atmosphere between them didn’t change or become uncomfortable.

He spotted the blond sitting at one of the tables in the library without any company, which didn’t surprised him because he always stated that he couldn’t concentrate when other people were around him, although he had always allowed him to read his books or complete his essays at his side. Yamaguchi smiled at that, and held the same smile as he approached him and then sat down next to him.

Tsukishima turned his head to see that it was him and not some other student who he wouldn’t hesitate to look with a serious face, hoping that it would be enough to get them away, but he watched him for a few more seconds when he realized that the Hufflepuff remained staring at the table with extreme concentration, his previous smile already lost. “Herbology was difficult?” He asked him.

"Not really," Yamaguchi answered, and raised his head again to rest his books on the table as well as his elbow and then put one of his cheeks in the palm of his hand and placed himself on his side to watch him. “Can we talk? It can be later if you are studying," He said, and inwardly smiled when he remembered that Yachi had certainly been right, since after suffering too much nerves after confessing, talking to him wasn’t making him nervous. Although it didn’t surprise him, since at the end of the day, he was used to talking to him, and the fact that his feelings had increased, didn’t change the fact that it had always been easy for him to communicate with the blond at his side, who at that moment closed the book in front of him.

“We can talk.” He assured him.

Yamaguchi smiled when he realized again that he was an exception to all the rules.

"I don’t really know how to ask this or how to express it, but," He looked around trying to find the right words, but then he returned his focus to the blond who frowned slightly as soon as he heard him begin to speak. “I know you're not the kind of person who would do it, but you didn’t say you felt the same for me just because you don’t want our friendship to be something uncomfortable, right? Because, I don’t know how to explain it, but I find it strange that you like me," He blurted, feeling mildly satisfied with himself for expressing his problems aloud. “It's not that I'm not happy. The opposite actually. I just want to be sure that you like me because you do and not because you feel sorry for me, or because you don’t know how to reject me without hurting me.”

Yamaguchi watched him, certainly worried about the way Tsukishima might react to his words, while the blond remained silent processing the words that had been spoken.

"I'll just say you were right when you said I'm the smartest," Tsukishima finally said, and Yamaguchi formed a line with his lips, the tension of which spread to the rest of his body when the blond stared at him. “This is new territory for me, for us," He pointed between them. “I can read for a long time, get good grades, and be among the best in class. But because there are books for that, explanations and guides that help me, teachers that guide me. In this, I’m new. I don’t know what changes I should expect or if I shouldn’t expect any change at all. All I know is that I didn’t lie to you, and that I would never play with you when I told you I like you.”

Yamaguchi nodded, understanding that the new situation was not only confusing for him, since neither of them had ever been in a relationship before, and if having feelings was confusing in itself, the disorientation only increased when dealing with them. Tsukishima had never thought that he would have said his confession as a joke or to have fun on the night of his birthday, so he shouldn’t think that the blond would be able to have fun at the expense of emotions that he had hardly managed to express out loud.

"This time I don’t have all the answers," Tsukishima continued as he still stare at him. “But if there’s something I do have, it’s the certainty that I like you.”

Yamaguchi just smiled. “I also have the certainty that I like you,” He said.

"Then there's nothing you should worry about, just like there's nothing I should worry about,"

Yamaguchi continued smiling, and after remaining certain that reality was in his favor, he decided to open his books to study at Tsukishima's side, who continued to show him that he was still the only exception when instead of kicking him out because he preferred to study without company, he simply refocused on his own book before glancing at him.

* * *

With his arms folded, Daichi looked at the three who were a year younger than him.

“And? I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what happened.”

As Nishinoya inflated his cheeks, Tanaka began to whistle innocently and Yamamoto played with his fingers, and Yaku managed to avoid laughing by covering his mouth with his hand while he continued to watch the disaster around him.

Pieces of chocolate cake were scattered on the floor as well as on the table of the house to which they all belonged to, there was cream on the walls as well as on the faces of the three sixth-year students, one of whom opened his mouth to explain the reason why the Great Hall seemed to have become a kitchen moments after causing a catastrophe.

“It's my birthday, Daichi-san!” Nishinoya exclaimed.

“I already know that. I still don’t hear why a party ended in this.”

“Ryuu seemed to be upset, and on my birthday I want everyone to be happy, so with Tora we throw a cake to his face to have fun. Minutes later, there were many cakes everywhere," He added sputtering.

Daichi opened his mouth to scold them because he didn’t believe those words were sufficient reason to justify the disaster committed in one of the spaces of the school, but the face of innocence of the birthday boy was replaced by a big smile, and he ran out before the captain of the team they all belonged to, could tell him something.

“Asahi-san!”

Nishinoya started jumping around the Hufflepuff that appeared accompanied by the rest of his housemates, since the birthday boy invited his friends from other houses to celebrate that day. Asahi tried to follow Nishinoya's gaze but he turned dizzy after failing to follow the path of the one who laughed out loud when he saw him holding his head with both hands to try to compose himself. Suddenly Nishinoya embraced the seventh-year, and closed his eyes as he held a big smile when he pressed his face to his torso.

“Today is my birthday!”

Asahi patted him on the head.

“I know, that's why we came,” He said smiling.

Nishinoya took his face off his body to let the seventh-year glimpse the sparkle that characterized the hazel eyes of the birthday boy, whose smile only continued to widen, while Yamamoto took advantage of Daichi stopped focusing on them once the Hufflepuffs appeared, to nudge the one remaining at his side.

“What makes you so upset that even being Noya's birthday you don’t smile?”

Even if together with Nishinoya they made Tanaka return to be the same funny and energetic person he always was while they threw and dodged chocolate and cream cakes all around the place, Tanaka returned to hold a serious expression on his face.

"Nothing," He replied along with a smile that only lasted a few seconds.

He lied, but Yamamoto was right. He couldn’t let his bad mood interfere with his attitude on the birthday of one of his best friends, so he shook his head before smiling, and although Yamamoto didn’t trust his answer and looked at him with narrowed eyes, he preferred to say nothing while the other approached the newcomers. He knew his friend too well to realize that something was bothering him, although he wasn’t sure what it was. Or perhaps, who.

The two remained silent, while the peace of mind of a player of their own team, was completely interrupted when silence was the least he had.

“Yaku-san!”

The vice-captain of the Gryffindor team took a defensive stance as soon as he heard his name being expressed in that enthusiasm and high tone of voice, and suddenly someone invaded his personal space after finding himself too close to him. He didn’t hesitate to squint and look suspiciously at the fifth-year who stood in front of him cheerfully, and who didn’t doubt to approach him when he arrived even though they only had spoke once and the conversation ended between them because the seventh-year's patience had reached its limit.

“What do you want from me now?”

Yaku wondered why Lev formed a little pout with his lips when he heard that he wasn’t as excited to see him as he seemed to be, since they didn’t have any kind of relationship and he didn’t think he said or did something so that the gray-haired one thought that they were suddenly friends only because they had friends in common and because they both played quidditch.

“I want to spend time with you!” Lev exclaimed excitedly despite hearing him.

The seventh-year arched an eyebrow.

“Why would I do that?”

The vice-captain still remembered that he had interrupted him to make a comment about the difference in height between the two, so at that moment he was completely surprised when the boy in front of him united his hands behind his own back and moved the sole of his shoe while he kept his green eyes on the same one instead of laughing out loud after he also remembered how they met and the words exchanged that time.

"I didn’t mean to say something bad," He said.

“Well, you did it anyway.”

“And if I apologize?” Lev changed his expression from one second to the next. “If I apologize can we spend time together?” He added along with a hopeful smile.

Yaku watched him silently.

Why did that boy seem to be obsessed with him when there were many more boys at Hogwarts to chase and annoy? Why did he focus on him when they didn’t belong to the same house or the same team, and they even were two years apart? He didn’t find any sense in the situation as well as no answer that would have a minimum degree of logic.

And he didn’t understand why he opened his mouth to express the word he said.

“Fine.”

“Sorry!” Lev exclaimed as soon as he heard him, and didn’t hesitate to approach him to stand by his side while not avoiding smiling happily.

Yaku watched him even more bewildered.

The two of them stayed silent too, while not far from them, Kageyama had a completely opposite expression to the one with gray hair since he was completely serious at the same time that his blue eyes were perched on the only one with orange hair present in the Great Hall, who was chatting happily with Inuoka seeming to be completely thrilled to be in the same place as the one who could claim to be the outstanding player of the Hufflepuff team. He didn’t doubt that Nishinoya had only invited him because he invited the rest of the team and it would have been bad if he didn’t invite him, and the only person he could say that was fairly close to him, was Hinata, but he was chatting with his best friend and he didn’t want to interrupt them, since it wasn’t that he and the orange-haired one were friends. He managed to join the team but that didn’t mean that he immediately begun to relate to the others as anyone would have done in his place, so he remained seated since not even socializing was one of his favorite pastimes because he didn’t know how to do it either. He was used to people not wanting to approach him, so he was surprised when he heard a voice near him.

"You are not trying to pick a fight with Hinata, right?”

Kageyama noticed what he was doing when he heard Tanaka. He didn’t realize that he had kept his eyes fixed on him since they had arrived, and he was grateful that the sixth-year sat down beside him to distract him, although he didn’t understand why he approached him when he could easily consider himself the most boring person in the Great Hall.

“You aren’t enjoying the party, are you?”

Kageyama heard his words, and only replied shortly after finding it odd that the one who expressed not agreeing him to join the team, was addressing him and not to insult or reproach him for how bad he had behaved during the first practice, although during the second chance they didn’t crossed many words, neither looked at each other in a fixed way or either of them slapped insults at each other.

“Parties aren’t my thing,” He answered being sincere.

“I'll go for a walk. If you also want to clear your head, I won’t reject you." Tanaka commented.

Tanaka got up to go to the doors of the Great Hall after speaking, and although the fifth-year remained a few seconds wondering if he was making a joke in honor of Nishinoya's birthday, when he realized that the sixth-year had really left that place, he didn’t hesitate to join him. So the two withdrew from the party, the last of them without realizing that the only with orange hair present at the party, observed him seconds before he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Quidditch teams find out who they will face in the first round of matches, and Tsukishima speaks with Akaashi.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just saw Endgame and now I don't know how am I supposed to live.  
> Plus, it's Kuroken day so it was a good day.

Daichi felt that things finally began to be in place.

They were almost at the end of the training, when suddenly shouts of emotion caused him to stop talking to Yamamoto about how he should hold the bat in case a bludger approached him from the side that he wasn’t used to hit, and when both turned around, they stood stunned when they spotted Nishinoya with his arms raised as he laughed excitedly, Tanaka open-mouthed seeming to have seen a miracle in front of his own eyes, and Kageyama watching Hinata with his eyes wide open while the orange-haired one held a proud smile proud in his face.

“That was…" Inuoka, who had been in a break with Yaku, tried to speak.

"Amazing," The guardian at his side concluded for him.

The fifth-year began to applaud and jump animatedly after having seen his best friend fly in that way in the air, and both Daichi and Yamamoto approached them after not understanding why everyone seemed to be as excited as perplexed.

“What happened?” The captain asked.

Instead of answering, Yaku gave him a smile before returning to rest his eyes on those who were on their brooms, and whistle to get the attention of those. “Do that again!” He exclaimed.

Nishinoya raised his thumbs indicating that they would follow his instructions, and he placed himself in front of the highest hoop of the three looking like he was gathering concentration after stucking out the tip of his tongue while the trio of chasers moved away from him to take some distance before they began to fly in parallel, with Tanaka being the one to hold the quaffle in his hand, although in the middle of the road he threw it to Kageyama who seconds before the three were near the area where Nishinoya was ready to receive them, seemed to return the quaffle to the one who had given it to him to then quickly throw it to Hinata and being him the one throwing the ball to one of the hoops with enough speed so that Nishinoya couldn’t realize that he already threw it when trying to approach the ring by where the ball had been passed.

The keeper began to cheer excitedly although in an official game that would have meant that they managed to cheat on him and therefore not prevented the opposing team from winning ten points, while Tanaka smiled impressed and Hinata returned to hold the same smile and Hinata observed his hand at the same time that Inuoka again applauded just as fun as Nishinoya.

Yaku and Daichi looked at each other thinking the same thing.

Eventually what they had imagined was happening, and even better than they had planned, not only because they never doubted that the time Kageyama would synchronize with Hinata's speed would arrive, but also because Tanaka turned out to be the unexpected ingredient that the tactics needed to work.

And although by the end of the practice they tried again and failed in several attempts as well as managed to do the same thing over and over again, Daichi realized that once they all met in a round as they did every time the training was over, everyone was talking or listening to each other while chatting about the practice of that day. He didn’t know if it was due to the fact that Coach Ukai had given him the permission to mention to his teammates the date of the first game of the season that year as well as the name of the house they would face, but since he expressed at the beginning of the practice that they would play against Slytherin in less than a month, they all seemed to have duplicated their efforts throughout the practice as well as made a greater attempt to understand each other, since Daichi sighted Tanaka and Kageyama chatting with each other instead of the first making strange faces and the second shouting words accompanied by a not subtle tone of voice, Nishinoya and Hinata laughing every time the second one failed in a shot, or celebrating when he managed to score what were considered points, and Inuoka developing a relationship with the vice-captain of the team while both took their respective breaks. In addition, it seemed that both Yamamoto and Nishinoya chose to forget first bad impressions and therefore accept the fifth-year black-haired one as one more of the team, not to mention that also Kinoshita and Narita didn’t hesitate to laugh when a bludger or a quaffle ended near the faces of the trio of friends of their same year, which made the duo of fifth-year chasers feel even more comfortable in the air.

“We'll win. If they don’t accept Kuroo-san as their captain, it will be a piece of cake," Yamamoto bragged when they all stopped talking to each other.

The two leaders exchanged disapproving looks, because even if only Daichi was the one to meet with the rest of the captains to discuss the situation of the Slytherin team, Yaku was also aware of it after also having a friendship with Kuroo.

“Don't underestimate them. After all, Kuroo isn’t the captain for nothing," Yaku stated.

Nishinoya received a withering glare from Yamamoto after beginning to laugh at the comment the vice-captain made regarding the previous words he mentioned.

“Yaku is right. The ones we face are teams and not people. Kuroo doesn’t play alone, and unlike us, the Slytherin team is mostly made up of seventh-year players who have experience playing and are used to playing with each other, so next time we will analyze the starting team and the tactics we will use for them to not be extremely prepared for when we face. For today, we can end practice, it was a good one.”

Everyone began to disperse after listening carefully to the captain.

“Want to practice?”

Hinata wasn’t surprised to hear that question he had been accustomed to hearing every time the official training was over. He didn’t know why instead of nodding quickly as he used to do each time to respond, he didn’t answer immediately and it took him a few seconds to speak only so that the one who had asked that question remained confused when he heard his words.

“Can Inuoka stay too?”

Perhaps the fact of having become accustomed to receiving a quick affirmation or having thought that after having been a good practice Hinata would want to continue trying to carry out the type of play they had been practicing, but Kageyama felt a certain disgust in his palate when the orange-haired one expressed that question instead of getting on his broom quickly so that both could continue in the air.

"Sure," He answered anyway.

He was aware that although the aforementioned was a seeker and not a chaser like the two of them, he was used to making passes with Hinata when the two of them practiced together, so he simply followed the orange-haired one as he approached the one whose name he previously pronounced.

“Do you want to practice with Kageyama and me?” He asked.

His roommate seemed to be flattered by the invitation, but he smiled quietly before scratching the back of his neck.

"I would, but I don’t think it's a good idea," Inuoka answered.

“Why not?”

“Maybe you haven’t noticed, but you seem to be the only person he likes to practice with. He has never asked anyone else to stay to continue practicing and anyway I have homework to do, but if later you still want to play, we can take a little time to practice," He explained.

Hinata chased him with his eyes while his best friend said goodbye to him as well as the rest of the team at the same time Kageyama approached the box of materials that Daichi decided to leave because he knew he would only get the fifth-year duo to look for it on their own if he didn’t give them the permission to continue practicing, although he didn’t deny that after a few hours he would go around the quidditch field to make sure that they weren’t getting too enthusiastic with the time they spent on their brooms.

Hinata remained with both eyebrows raised.

He was the only one? The only person Kageyama asked to practice?

Hinata glanced at the one who held the quaffle again, and held a cheerful smile on his face before coming back to him.

“Inuoka didn’t stay?” The black-haired boy asked him when he saw him alone.

 The seriousness in his expression seemed to diminish.

“Tanaka-san didn’t stay either?”

Kageyama watched him surprised to hear him answer with a question. “Tanaka-san?” He asked confused.

"I thought you would have told him," Hinata traced imaginary lines on his broomstick. “Today the three of us played very well together, and I also saw you leaving the party together on Noya-san's birthday. I thought you would ask him to stay.”

Kageyama remained stupefied. He didn’t think Hinata saw him leave the party.

“I just wasn’t having a good time. And he didn’t either," He explained.

“Why not?”

“Parties are not my thing.”

“That's because you're boring.”

“I'm not boring!” Kageyama exclaimed putting himself on the defensive immediately.

Hinata giggled at the sight of him frowning and then held up a smile.

“Well, we better practice so that you don’t get bored once we have a party because we will beat Slytherin.”

Kageyama changed his expression to a softer one when he heard him, and promptly the two met again on their brooms. 

* * *

Tsukishima wasn’t used to asking questions which answers he couldn’t find, because if questions which answers his brain couldn’t formulate appeared in his head, then it was enough to raise his hand in class for the teacher to clarify his doubt, or to go to the library until he found the right book that would give him the answer he needed. One way or another he always managed to close the doubts that his neurons created, so when he understood that the answers to the questions he had begun to have, weren’t written in any book or in any of his notes taken in class because it weren’t topics that he saw in the subjects either, he felt cornered.

The blond was aware that sarcasm was his best defense, that he didn’t have the biggest round of friends, and that he didn’t easily allow people to approach him, so it was easy to notice when people joined him because they simply wanted to, or because maybe they wanted to ask for the solved exercises of some subject. He had learned that he enjoyed being with Kunimi because although they were roommates and from that year on they were also teammates, they didn’t force each other to tell each other what happened to them, nor did they fill all the moments between them with unimportant conversations. He had also felt at ease with those who composed the Ravenclaw team because they didn’t seem to be the people who wanted to embitter his days with unnecessary words or motivational phrases, and lately he had begun to enjoy his time with Yachi because although he thought that she was easily frightened and panicked very quickly, her notes were extremely neat and on some occasions she had helped him understand some exercise. But above all, at no time had he forgotten that Yamaguchi was his best friend, the same person who had been by his side because he had accepted him despite his reluctant nature and extreme vocabulary full of sarcasm.

Yamaguchi was the person with whom he liked to spend his time because he was as calm as easy to be scared, because he always intended to improve and not rest until he did, because he laughed at his jokes, and because although he seemed to be a very shy person, he added comments when he bothered someone. Yamaguchi was the one who, little by little, had managed to tear down his walls to know him in all his aspects and accept him in all his forms. It was with him whom he was accustomed to spend his time because unlike the others, it didn’t bother him to be by his side for a long time, since Yamaguchi respected his silence but also spoke in situations that he thought the blond needed some comments for not going over a limit or to put him in his place. And although he had thought that a friendship with him was what he needed to not think that he would never connect properly with people, he found himself wrong when he realized that he didn’t need to seek answers to know that the doubts in his head were answered with a simple sentence: He no longer wanted Yamaguchi to be only his best friend.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that he was used to being with him, that his presence didn’t bother him, and that hearing him laugh when he made some sarcastic comment made him feel good about himself for having once again revealed that he was an expert on talking in an ironic way. He didn’t know it with certainty, but what he did know was that inside him something had emerged each time they had started another school year, and Yamaguchi was no longer at his side to catch up with his housemates, especially Yachi. It wasn’t that he was jealous of her in itself, but that Yamaguchi seemed to relate to her in the same way he did with him. And believing that he had always been the only one, Tsukishima had only had a bit of reasoning to realize that his anger at thinking that Yamaguchi had other best friends besides him, was jealousy. Jealous to think that Yamaguchi could replace him with someone more cheerful, with someone who wasn’t as closed as him. Jealous to think that from one day to the next, Yamaguchi would stop wanting to spend his time with him after realizing that there were people much more interesting than him.

So when the Hufflepuff approached him on the night of his birthday to suddenly confess that he liked him and didn’t know how to express it, not only he remained stupefied, but also surprised, because after having sighted him talking to Yachi not only that afternoon but also many other times before, he had thought that he had ceased to be of his interest instead of being his main interest. He didn’t understand how it was that Yamaguchi liked him when there were people who might be able to entertain him more, but he supposed he had in his favor the fact that both trusted each other as well as that they understood each other after they had known each other for so long. And he had relegated his thoughts as well as removed his doubts after holding that idea, so when the Hufflepuff appeared at his side in the library to ask him if he really liked him, he remained as stupefied as he had been when he had had to listen to his confession.

He believed that at no time had he left room for doubts to be accentuated in Yamaguchi's brain, since although he knew that he sometimes let himself be driven by fear, he had never thought that panic would appear in their friendship. And unlike all the other times in which a question had been going around in his head, for that occasion he didn’t have any book or guide that could give him the answers he needed, and as soon as he thought about consulting someone, it only appeared a name in his head.

The reality was that Yamaguchi was the person he trusted the most, but on that occasion he couldn’t talk about it with him, and while he could assure that he was friends with Kunimi, he didn’t think they were close enough to feel comfortable asking him about certain topics about which he also had trouble talking because he had never had to do it before, so when he sighted the person he thought would understand him in a certain way because he felt they were somehow similar, and because he also believed that he could trust him both inside and outside the Quidditch field, although he had recently been incorporated into the Ravenclaw team, he approached him.

“Akaashi-san?”

Akaashi suddenly looked up to take his eyes off the subject book which class he had just finished, which was also why several more of the quidditch team were with him since Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had just shared class, albeit fortunately for Tsukishima, Kenma had continued walking with Fukunaga and Sakusa by his side while Ennoshita had started talking to Suna, leaving Akaashi alone with his book until he heard his name being mentioned.

“Can I talk with you?”

Akaashi nodded at the same time he closed his book, preventing the intrigue to be noticed in his facial features, because although he hadn’t bothered to be interrupted, he wondered the reasons why the blond had decided to approach him, since although now both belonged to the same team and had always been from the same house, and also, they had recently made him a birthday party, he was aware that Tsukishima didn’t have total trust with him, much less when he wasn’t inserted in his role as captain in the Quidditch field. Even though he might have been thinking too much anyway and the blond had simply approached him to ask him a question about some subject that he would like to prepare in the future, to ask for help with some essay, or to ask him a question or comment on any matter about the sport they both practiced.

Akaashi looked at him expectantly, realizing that perhaps he had been right to remain surprised after the blond had approached him, since given case he had approached him for any of the reasons he had already thought, Tsukishima would have asked the question or said the comment without going around instead of staying as he did at that moment. Looking around, seeming to find the right words to continue the conversation between them, allowing him to understand why he had approached to talk with him.

“I think I have a problem and I believe that you are the only one who can help me,” Tsukishima decided to express after believing that it was impossible to find the right words for both of them to start talking, making Akaashi certainly remain confused because at that moment he couldn’t think of something in what only he was useful for the blond.

“Is it about quidditch?" The sixth-year asked, because after noticing that it was difficult for the blond to be able to cope easily, then maybe he could guide him to find the right words. Tsukishima shook his head, and Akaashi's disorientation only increased further. What could be something that only he could help him with? “Did I say or do something that could have bothered you and you want to talk about it?” He asked not being so sure, since that was the only thing his mind had managed to think in a matter of seconds, although again the blond shook his head for the second time. "Are you okay?” He decided to ask him, not because the one in front of him was acting strange, but because if Tsukishima had approached him, then he supposed that it was because he had somehow managed to trust him to perhaps tell him something that he felt he couldn’t tell nobody else.

"It's just that, I have a question, but I'm not sure how to formulate it," Tsukishima said.

"Try telling it as you can," Akaashi advised him calmly. ”There’s no hurry.”

Tsukishima knew that he had done the right thing in approaching the black-haired one, since some comfort settled in his thoughts when instead of pressing him to speak fast and not to waste his time, Akaashi simply concentrated on him to assure him that he could take his time in finding the right words, or perhaps in just trying to expose his thoughts out loud.

“Do you remember that thanks to Bokuto-san, now everyone knows that...” Tsukishima wrinkled his nose not knowing very well how to finish that question, while Akaashi internally sighed as soon as he heard the name of that seventh-year, having understood why the blond had approached him, because if there was someone who could explain him in Bokuto's name or apologize for his actions, it was him. Although he promptly eliminated those thoughts as soon as he realized that he thought he was the one who knew the seventh-year best. “Now that Yamaguchi and I...” Akaashi noticed that the blond's problem was due to not being able to express what kind of relationship was the one he had with that of his same year.

“Dating?” He tried to ask him to help him, and pretended not to see the way the tips of the blond's ears in front of him reddened at the same time he nodded. “Yes, I remember it. Why?”

Tsukishima opened his mouth to answer but closed it again as soon as he realized that that would probably be the first time he shared some of his personal life with someone else who wasn’t Yamaguchi. But he started to talk, because if he had approached Akaashi, it was because he trusted him to listen to him and to be able to talk to him about something besides classes or quidditch.

“Yamaguchi approached me to tell me that he thought I was joking with him or that I felt sorry for him when I told him that I felt the same way he feels for me,” He decided to tell him, and he felt confident to continue talking when that in front of him nodded with his head indicating that he could continue. “And I don’t. I correspond to his feelings because I do, not because I wanted to make a joke in bad taste or because I feel sorry for him. And I think the fact that he has thought about those possibilities has bothered me.”

Tsukishima opted to brake for a few seconds to wait for Akaashi to interrupt him if he realized that he was giving him his time for nothing since it cost him too much to express himself even if he only was sharing small details of his private life, while Akaashi simply observed him before he nodded again, because although he didn’t understand what he had to do so far, he had begun to feel satisfied with the fact that Tsukishima had approached him to speak, since although there had only been a few times in which they had previously crossed words, the blond anyway seemed to have found reasons to trust him.

“And I wanted to ask you, how can I get him to not misunderstand my feelings or reasons?” He decided to ask him finally, that being the reason why he had approached him. “Because I may not speak a lot nor be a person of many words, but that doesn’t mean that I play with others feelings or that I want others to play with mine.”

The two observed each other.

Tsukishima fearing having crossed the line.

Akaashi being positively surprised.

The blond had decided to approach the captain of his team because although the majority in the quidditch team were characterized by being certainly silent and prefer the absence of words instead of the presence of those, Akaashi was who he believed that although he was of few words, he was of many emotions. Because if he had become captain of the team and the others trusted him to be, then it was because he thought with extreme, which meant that he had enough emotions to be discarded or accepted as appropriate on each occasion. It had been difficult to ask him why he didn’t want the black-haired one to take his words as an offense, while in reality, Akaashi remained surprised not only because he understood that Tsukishima hadn’t needed much time to realize that he was a person of few words and many emotions, but also because apparently both had the same attitude, and while he was glad that the blond had chosen to approach him, at the same time he understood that if even Tsukishima had come to talk with him for that reason, then his outer facet was collapsing.

Akaashi didn’t think he had a single answer, so he decided to show the reason why the fifth-year had come especially to him and not someone else from the same house as them.

"I don’t think you should change your way of being if that's what you were thinking," Akaashi began to say being listened to by the one remaining in front of him. “If Yamaguchi confessed to you what he feels for you, it’s because your personality attracts him, and I don’t think he wants you to change something about you just because now the relationship between the two of you you has changed,” He continued, hoping that the words he expressed wouldn’t confuse him yet even more to Tsukishima, although he supposed it didn’t because the blond nodded as he spoke. “As you said, not saying aloud what you feel doesn’t mean you don’t feel," He said, and decided to expose himself out loud, because if the blond had trusted him to speak to him, then he could trust Tsukishima to understood him. “You can’t stop Yamaguchi from having his doubts, but I think that as long as you show him what you feel for him, you have nothing to worry about. You know what you feel, and if Yamaguchi knows you and trusts you, then you shouldn’t be afraid to remain as you are.”

Tsukishima thought about his words, and thanked himself for looking for Akaashi.

He had just mentioned that he should trust that Yamaguchi would trust him as well as that he would understand him because he knew him well enough to know that in his case, actions were more important than words, which weren’t his forte. He had told him with words that he liked him and that he felt the same, but with actions was the way he had assured him. Being jealous of Yachi, being jealous of Bokuto because he had taken his hand first, allowing him to hold on to his arm on Konoha's birthday, or inviting him to his birthday or allowing him to study by his side. He always showed him that he was the only exception with small demonstrations in actions of his emotions.

Yamaguchi should trust his gestures as Tsukishima continue to accept his doubts, because he knew that although the Hufflepuff was brave when he proposed it, sometimes he also allowed doubts to take over him, but as long as he showed him that he liked him, then there would be no problems in the new type of relationship they were looking for.

"Thank you Akaashi-san," Tsukishima said with a little bow with his head. “I hope I didn’t offend you.”

"Actually, you helped me." Akaashi told him.

The blond certainly observed him confused, while Akaashi realized that if Tsukishima had been able to read him, then he continued to be an expert in demonstrating with actions instead of words, and he continued to focus on that once the fifth-year was grateful again before leaving.

Few words. Many emotions. Many thoughts.

Akaashi believed that he could definitely define himself that way.

“AKAAAAAAASHI!!”

Although the majority of the students were accustomed to listening that tone of voice that could only belong to a person who never hesitated to enunciate in that way the name of the one with whom they shared classes with, anyway they didn’t stop giving a little jump for the surprise after the quiet environment suddenly being interrupted in that way. Ennoshita had already lost count of all the drinks he had spilled or the books he had dropped because of the fright caused by that exclamation, and on that occasion he had to bend over to pick up the book he started reading after Suna left, to then raise his head to stop Bokuto approaching quickly the one who turned around, and who ironically, was the only one who wasn’t startled to hear his name echo throughout the hall.

“What is it, Bokuto-san?”

Akaashi stepped forward to remain near the one who placed his hands at the sides of his waist before smiling as entertaining as proudly pretending that running with extreme speed didn’t tire him at all even though his chest dropped and rose with a certain rhythm.

“I want to warn you that I will not have mercy just because our houses face each other!”

Bokuto arched an eyebrow more than impatient for the corresponding date to arrive, since as well as Gryffindor and Slytherin would be rivals during the first round, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw would face two weekends after them, and since he had found out, Bokuto found himself even more restless than usual and didn’t doubt to look for the other leader who his house he would face to assure him that the match between them would be one worth playing.

"Neither do we," Akaashi assured him.

“We must make our teams work hard! You better be a good captain, Akaashi! I want our confrontation to be epic!” Bokuto spoke as if the match between was the most important pitched battle of all time.

Words. Sometimes they were few. Sometimes they were many.

“Sure,”

“Akaashi, you are the captain! Could you sound a little more fired up? You must put more emotion when I promise to face you!”

The sixth-year observed him without saying anything for a few seconds.

There were times when only a few words were enough for a turbulence of emotions to unravel within him, while on other occasions, there were many words that could achieve the same result, and not necessarily a good one.

Akaashi had thought that if even Tsukishima had been able to decipher him, then for the boy in front of him it should have been extremely easy to achieve the same. But apparently he had found himself wrong.

"Sure." He repeated.

Bokuto remained perplexed when suddenly Ennoshita interrupted the conversation between them and gave him a false but genuine smile before taking Akaashi by the shoulders and turning him around.

“Take for granted that we will give our best. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll go practice to defeat you when the time comes.” It was the only thing he said before turning around too.

And while Bokuto cocked his head as he chased them with his eyes, Akaashi looked at the one who had dragged him with him knowing that they didn’t have to rush to get to any practice since they didn’t had any training that afternoon.

Tsukishima could read him, Ennoshita too. Why Bokuto couldn't?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll start doing this of giving a hint of what will happen in the next chapter, I don't know, I like it. So therefore, next chapter: Kenma's feelings run over him on his birthday, and Ennoshita begins to unfold his plan.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's Shirabu's birthday!! And kind of a second bokuaka day?? And akaken day yeihhhh

After rubbing his eyes after feeling his mattress sunk, he found Ennoshita smiling extremely animated and Akaashi waving calmly at him, both of them looking very wide awake even if they had only woken up a few minutes ago. "Guess what day it is," The first of them said, seeming to be the most excited. 

Kenma decided to lie on his side and hide under his blanket. The weather changes of October had already begun to show, and although he always thought about being able to stay in his bed sleeping because he preferred to stay under the sheets instead of wearing several layers of clothes to protect himself from the cold, he had more than one reason of why to want to remain hidden under those warm fabrics that he had used many times as a shield.

"I don’t know," He lied.

Ennoshita didn’t hesitate to uncover him and get closer to him.

“It's your birthday! I won’t let you stay in bed all day!”

"He can’t anyway, we have classes." Akaashi said.

The one who preferred to spend his birthday hiding under his sheets, let a serious expression to appear on his face after realizing that his roommate was right and he was obligated to leave the Ravenclaw Tower, so he decided to sit up and watched his two friends with a face that indicated a passive threat.

"No surprise party." He stated.

“Promised,” Akaashi assured him.

Ennoshita frowned at him.

He crossed his arms pretending to be offended because everyone knew how much he liked to celebrate birthdays, and a small smile appeared on Kenma's face when he saw him faking to be angry. And yet, the black-haired one only lasted a few seconds pretending not to want to talk to him since then he opened his arms to embrace him and exclaim that he wished him a great birthday, while Akaashi expressed the same and gave him a pat on the back, because being suffocated by Ennoshita was already too much for Kenma to start his day in a different way.

* * *

 

Kenma was grateful that it was only the Ravenclaws and some more those who greeted him for his birthday, since he hated being the center of attention and having people with whom he didn’t have a lot of trust to approached him, although fortunately no professor had greeted him and therefore no class had been uncomfortable either. Besides, Ennoshita agreed to wait until nightfall to sing his birthday in the common room of Ravenclaw and not in the Great Hall at noon. Kenma didn’t like to be watched or to capture the interest of others, so he preferred to spend that day in the most normal way possible.

However, how did he want it to be like any other birthday when the person with whom he used to spend them didn’t want him to be close to him?

Could he say that he wanted it to be like any other day since avoiding Kuroo had become part of his routine? To ignore him that day would be like to spend that day like any other, since getting away from him had become a habit.

But deep down he knew he wanted to see him.

Even if it was only to get away from him again.

He could still feel the beating of his heart increase when he remembered that he had approached him and failed to congratulate him on getting the captaincy of his team, although he had been barely able to mention a single word. He was angry with himself for not being able to control the reaction that his body exerted when he thought about him, and even more when he was close to him, although he avoided doing it because he preferred to get away from him as quickly as possible.

But he knew that he couldn’t help thinking that it generated him emotion that Kuroo was always looking for him whenever the opportunity presented itself, and that sometimes he realized that he kept his eyes on him. He didn’t need to raise his head or to stop being conecentrated in the electronic device in his hands to know that there were times when the eyes of the Slytherin were resting on him.

And he hated himself for that.

He despised anyone paying attention to him, except him.

His body made it clear that it wouldn’t follow the orders of his brain no matter how many times he repeated the same thing over and over again.

Kenma constantly debated with himself, and at that moment he wasn’t doing the opposite.

Looking through the doors of the Great Hall, he wanted to glimpse if Kuroo was looking for him with his eyes. He didn’t like to celebrate his birthday nor to be close to many people, but he wished that a single person in particular approached him to assure him that he was still looking for him even though he probably would en up getting away from him in that occasion too. A person who didn’t seem to be in that place of the castle.

Why did he feel frustrated?

Why did he look for him when he always ran away from the same?

His thoughts didn’t leave him alone.

He had waited expectantly since he left the common room of his house to attend the different classes of the day. And at the end of each, a strange sensation consumed him after waiting for Kuroo to suddenly appear and therefore he having to leave faster than usual so he wouldn't have to cross words with him. His escape from him had become something he wanted to be able to carry out in order to feel that Kuroo would keep looking for him and try to approach him no matter how many times he left or rejected him. He was aware that he shouldn’t have that kind of thinking when all he had to concentrate on was really wanting to be as far away as possible from him.

His head didn’t cease to confuse him with that kind of thoughts since he had moved away from him, but that day was his birthday, and remembering all the previous times that he had celebrated that day with Kuroo, only made him feel even more confused. And tired of debating among the reasoning that his mind gave him, he preferred to go to the common room of his house to at least feel a little more protected but frustrated, so he turned around to leave only to get bumped with someone.

It was enough for Kenma to see the Slytherin shield in the black sweater and the silver-green tie to pull back from looking up and then ducking his head after suddenly feeling his stomach clench and his throat remain dry. His brain worked without stopping only for his body to do what it wanted.

Because it was him.

Of course it was him.

No other belonging to Slytherin made him feel as uncomfortable as he did.

“Sorry,” Kuroo uttered. Kenma opened his eyes like two plates. "I didn’t mean us to collide." The Slytherin added.

Kenma returned to hold his usual expression. It had been pathetic of him to hope that he was suddenly apologizing for what he had said and not because they crashed by mistake, so he chose to continue in silence.

He hadn’t been so close to him since he tried to congratulate him on his captaincy, and while he kept his eyes fixed on the ground as well as his lips forming a divisible line, Kuroo watched him with a faint smile given that without Kenma's having noticed, it was the first time for a long time that he chose to stay close to him instead of walking away and disappearing before he could say anything.

“I didn’t forgot it's your birthday,”

With those simple words, Kenma freed himself from the frustration that had accompanied him since he had woken up.

“I wanted to find you so I could give you this. Happy Birthday.”

The floor of the corridor was replaced by something rectangular and almost flat wrapped in blue paper and Kenma remained watching the gift.

What should he do?

Accept it?

If he agreed to receive a gift from him, would that gesture result in something else?

What if he didn’t accept it and decided to reject it?

Would Kuroo stop looking for him?

He heard a sigh from the part of the Slytherin.

"Take it please," He added, knowing that although the boy in front of him remained silent, inside his head many voices debated with each other, interrupting one another and not agreeing.

Kenma's body seemed to understand those words as an instruction to be fulfilled, as he stretched out his arms and their fingertips brushed in the exchange. Kuroo watched him as Kenma glued the gift to his chest while trying to make the sensation that begun to suffer in his limbs, stop before it ran through his entire body. Only a short and small touch was enough for him to feel that his emotions were taking over all the muscles of his body, as well as his emotional thoughts having the power over the rationals one.

The one belonging to Slytherin opened his mouth after wanting to take advantage of the fact that for the first time the one in front of him didn’t seem to be totally focused on getting away, but he had to remain with the desire to continue talking as Kenma wasn’t able to continue to be close to him while a wave of emotions unleashed within him, and he passed by his side before leaving, being careful that there was no chance of their shoulders being brushed. Kuroo turned to see him walking away again, beginning to get used to seeing his back instead of his face. And he let out a sigh, allowing his back to touch the wall behind him.

Kenma quickly went to the Ravenclaw Tower, and after crossing the common room with the package still attached to his chest as if letting it fall implied that the ground would tremble and the castle would turn into a pile of rubble in a matter of seconds, he didn’t hesitate to lie on his bed on his stomach when he arrived at his room, and he let his face hit the pillow.

Until he remembered that Kuroo slept that way.

Why did everything reminded him of him?

He sat down and looked at the gift that he had finally stopped fastening to his body after it being on his bed.

What was it?

What could it be about?

He swallowed when he realized that Kuroo approached him to give him a gift no matter how much he ignored him or how many times he fled from him, so with his hands accompanied by a slight tremor, he decided to open the gift, only to have an immediate feeling of emptiness invade him after seeing the framed photo Kuroo had given him for his birthday.

It was a picture of the two from when they were little in which Kuroo smiled excitedly for the camera while he smiled sideways watching him. Both believed it was one of the few times they were both portrayed smiling, and in which they had agreed to think it was a good photo and had constantly fought for wanting to have the same since it had been printed. And instead of doing a copy of it, Kuroo managed to keep it after winning in stone, paper and scissors, so the fact that he decided to give it to him knowing how much they had fought to have it, it meant that Kuroo didn’t care that he always had to see him walking away from him.

And again, both his own and Kuroo's actions made him feel worse.

Why couldn't he decide? Why couldn't he allow the voices within him to be suppressed so that only one would speak to whisper to him what were the decisions he should make? All day he had been waiting for Kuroo to appear to check that he was still thinking about him, or that given the case, that he had already grow tired of watching him stay away. He had been frustrated until he had collided with him, only for the situation to add more frustration to his shoulders because for the first time he was too confused to be able to think clearly and patiently as he usually did. He couldn't solve his problems as he used to do when some exercise of some subject didn't come out. He couldn't just shut up his thoughts and let his mind go blank. Kuroo confused him. He confused his ownself. He didn't  know what decisions to make, what actions to carry out, what words to express aloud, or how many minutes of silence allow to happen. He was disoriented, and he knew that all that was because he didn't even know if he was making the effort to live without the person he was used to spend his time with, or if with each passing day, he allowed the feelings of the present to eliminate those of the past.

* * *

Ennoshita smiled enthusiastically and was just as happy when someone specifically asked for his class notes, when a teacher congratulated him for answering the questions well or for having made an interesting essay to read, when Sakusa indicated through a look that he made a good movement during the training because that was his way of showing him that they could use that tactic during a game, when he held endless talks with Akaashi, when Kenma chose to show him how he managed to pass a level in one of his games or allow him to keep the electronic device because he trusted him enough to give it to him, or when he managed to make Fukunaga laugh at some of his dumb jokes, when he saw his first opportunity in front of his eyes, but again held a serious expression before pretending to be surprised when he meet Futakuchi and Yahaba in the hallway.

“I'm surprised to see you. I thought you left Hogwarts," He expressed sarcastically as he put a hand to his chest to add more drama to his words.

The duo of his same year watched him with narrowed eyes, since unlike the others, they knew that the one wearing a blue tie with bronze colored lines wasn’t a victim of their bad attitudes no matter how many times they had tried to achieve it during the previous years.

"Shouldn’t you be crawling like the snakes you are? If you can still be consider like ones.”

Ennoshita wasn’t like any other student who preferred to take another path and walk another long corridor instead of crossing them as soon as he saw them appear. He even loved to annoy them just as they liked to annoy him because it was an endless war of comments full of sarcasm and poison until someone interrupted them, and he tried to find any situation to have fun, so in that moment he was extremely entertained after having found them.

“Doing your eagle job when watching us?” Yahaba asked with disgust in his tone of voice. 

“You don’t seem to have noticed, but you are the ones near the tower of my house. Is it so much the hatred against you that you are roaming around here? I'll save you time by letting you know that I don’t think it'll possible for you to find much moral support around here. And I also doubt that you are capable of answering the riddle to be able to join the common room.”

“Who do you think you are, Ennoshita?” Futakuchi said approaching him.

"A Ravenclaw." He replied proudly.

The Slytherin slowed down to look at him, unable to believe that he really answered in that way.

"No one hates us." Yahaba said after noticing his words.

“Are you sure? I would be angry if I were in the same team as you," Ennoshita stated. “Missing a practice? Pathetic. And the reason is because the captain is not who you want? Even more pathetic. Before you can even realize, instead of facing me in the air when our houses play, you will be watching me play from the stands.”

"Control your words, Ennoshita." Futakuchi determined with a frown.

The Ravenclaw shrugged without taking his words seriously, nor did the severe expression on his face.

“Or what? Will you retaliate with me in the game? I don’t understand how you plan to do it if you don’t even attend practices.”

Yahaba grabbed his housemate's arm before he again approached Ennoshita, who smiled triumphantly at the glimpse of the boy's reaction in front of him. He loved it when he managed to turn the chaser into the prey, the keeper into the unprotected one, the beater into the whipped one, and the seeker into the persecuted one.

"Leave it, Futakuchi," Yahaba articulated.

Ennoshita waved at them as the Slytherin duo glared at him before deciding to be the first to leave, and a sudden presence appeared by his side.

“Were they bothering you?” Tanaka asked.

“Of course not, I was the one bothering them.”

Ennoshita smiled, sticking his tongue up and in front of his top row of teeth, as he did every time something went as he wanted and planned, and then he turned his head to observe Tanaka who was staring at him seeming to be completely lost. However, the Ravenclaw cocked his head and raised an eyebrow as he stopped smiling when he realized who was at his side.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

Tanaka shook his head when he heard him. "I was looking for you," He replied.

“Me?” Ennoshita changed his attitude from one second to the next. “Why?”

He leaned his back against the wall as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his tunic and watched him seriously after thinking that he was lying to him, since he didn’t doubt that he was near the Ravenclaw Tower because Kiyoko belonged to his own house. Ennoshita couldn’t help but get irritated when Tanaka was with him, since his presence reminded him how unlucky he was on the subject of reciprocal feelings.

“I wanted to ask you a question.”

“Do it,”

While Ennoshita was upset, Tanaka was frustrated by the change of attitude the boy in front of him held everytime they were together.  

“What do you think of the fifth-years?”

The one belonging to Ravenclaw remained totally stupefied, not expecting him to ask about those who were a year younger than them.

“The ones from the quidditch team.” Tanaka specified after glimpsing the confusion on his face.

“Why? Daichi-san sent you to spy?” Ennoshita inquired with a fake giggle. “You should worry about Slytherin, not us. You will see if we have made any changes in our team when it's our time to face each other.”

“No, I really want to know.”

Ennoshita watched him intrigued after hearing him sound serious.

“What do I think of them?” He remained silent for a few seconds, trying to find a genuine response. “I can’t really say, I haven’t talked much with them. You know as well as I do that the fact that someone joins the team doesn’t mean they are instantly another teammate.” Tanaka looked at him with both eyebrows raised, since he didn’t think he had chosen those words randomly. "You don’t believe that the Slytherin problems are the only ones that roam the corridors, do you?” Ennoshita smiled sideways. “Your first practice has also been relevant. Kageyama Tobio believes he is the best in the field and doesn’t stop giving orders? How difficult he must be to manage.”

Ennoshita held a smile that included a hint of pride as well as another of amusement, until it was erased from his face when he heard Tanaka laugh.

"With everything you seem to know, I'm amazed you don’t know there's no such problem anymore," The Gryffindor said.

The falseness in the Ravenclaw’s smile was more than remarkable.

“I'm glad.”

As well as in his words.

“And why the sudden interest on what I think of the fifth-years?” He added.

Tanaka didn’t intend to reveal that he wanted to know if he had any kind of relationship with Kunimi, one of the fifth-years who recently joined the Ravenclaw team and with whom he saw and heard him talking a few nights ago.

"Maybe Daichi-san wants us to spy after all," He replied, not knowing what else to say.

Ennoshita smiled being entertained.

“Nah. He is not that kind of captain.”

“You could never know for sure,” Tanaka was the one who smiled amused.

"Sooner or later I'll find out why you wanted to know that information. But for the moment I'll go to my room so I don’t let you accidentally get me to tell you something I should not," Ennoshita said looking at him with a smile on his face as he started to walk backwards.

Tanaka smiled helplessly and waved at him.

And as soon as he turned around, Ennoshita remained totally serious and narrowed his eyes.

The team’s fifth-years.

It could only be Tsukishima and Kunimi.

With the first he had barely crossed words.

Discarded.

At what moment had he done something with Kunimi that might be of interest to Tanaka?

Practices.

Discarded.

He was aware that Daichi wasn’t the kind of captain who used members of his team to find out important facts about the other teams. And besides, it was against Slytherin with whom they would play the first game so there was no point in trying to find out about the strategies planned by Ravenclaw.

Classes.

Discarded.

They weren’t in the same year.

Great Hall.

He arched an eyebrow at not ruling out that place immediately.

At what time?

He didn’t remember doing anything out of the ordinary with the fifth-year.

Suddenly he realized it wasn’t about a time where students from all four houses were present, but a special occasion when few were there.

Tsukishima's birthday.

Kunimi and he had talked outside the Great Hall and then decided to go for a walk that night.

"Too soon." He whispered to himself.

It wasn't hard for him to make his brain work fast enough when he needed to tie the ends that had to be tied up again.

However, the real question was: why the sudden interest?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ennoshita doesn't want Akaashi to give him hope, Kenma knows someone entertaining, Yaku doesn't know what to think, and Daichi manages to overcome his worst fear.


	23. Chapter 23

After listening to him, Akaashi simply looked at him. “And where did you walk?” He asked.

“Some corridors? I don’t remember well. The ground floor, I guess.”

Ennoshita believed that two brains worked better than one, so he didn’t doubt to tell his roommate about the exchange of words he had held with Tanaka two days ago, since although he managed to decipher most of the puzzle seconds later the encounter, he still lacked some pieces that he wasn’t able to find.

“And you didn’t see him at any time?”

“I would remember if I did,”

"Then it's pretty obvious to me," Akaashi started, crouching down to open the box that contained enough materials to carry out the practice, “He's not an Animagus because, don’t get offended, but he doesn’t seem to be patient enough or have the right brain to go through the process to do it so it's not possible that the followed you while being an animal, and in case of having an invisible layer I doubt that he would managed to keep it a secret, because he wouldn’t hesitate to tell Nishinoya and Yamamoto and therefore we would all know by now. So there's only the possibility that he saw, heard, or followed when the two of you left Tsukishima's birthday, which doesn’t make sense because only the Ravenclaws were invited and I'm sure anyone would even prefer to be in the library instead of a party only composed by us. I don’t remember any passage that may have led him to the same place as you, and also, at no time did you tell him about the birthday and he doesn’t seem to be the kind of person who follows people to guess their weaknesses and probably later use them in a quidditch match or in another situation that may be in his favor. And maybe Yamaguchi was with us but I don’t think he has something to do, because if he and Tanaka were friends I don’t doubt I would have already heard Bokuto-san saying something like one of his betrayed him after befriended a Gryffindor, so Yamaguchi isn’t a possibility either.”

Ennoshita looked at him perplexedly, realizing why he was the vice-captain of the team while the boy who had just uttered all those words occupied the role of the captain. He just held some thoughts while Akaashi had created hypotheses and discarded them as he took into account all the circumstances and possibilities. He remained silent for a few seconds after processing all the information, and grimaced in confusion because he didn’t understand what Tanaka was winning on following him.

“Why he would do it?”

“If you don’t know…”

The vice-captain of the Ravenclaw team seemed to seek the answer to his own question after looking around trying to find some explanation. His roommate was the only one to be with him since there were still a few minutes left for the practice to begin, and while he chose to sit on the lawn in case changing the position would help him to find the answer to his question, Akaashi gave him a sideways glance before returning his gaze to the quidditch balls to control that no one had flown away.

“Have you ever wondered how he feels?” Akaashi suddenly asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You know that I personally think you shouldn’t be angry with him just because he doesn’t feel the same as you, but when did he make it clear that he doesn’t feel the same as you? Have he ever said it to you for you to get irritated whenever he appears? Because you ask me for an explanation for the words you exchanged with him, and the only logical explanation I find to the question he has asked you is that despite what you believe, his feelings are different because you could say that it was jealousy what drove him to talk to you about Kunimi.”

The one who was in the center of the situation thought of each of the mentioned words. The situation made a total sense in case Akaashi's words were true since having seen or heard him speak with Kunimi could have made Tanaka feel enough envy of the fifth-year to look for him to ask about his relationship with him, since walking being only the two of them while the others remained in the Great Hall could easily be interpreted as something more.

But he decided to let out a slight chuckle as he considered the possibility.

"You don’t want to give me hope, Akaashi." He said.

It was simply impossible for jealousy to be what finished the puzzle.

“I only say what my brain deduces.”

“But it’s not possible.”

Akaashi chose to sit in front of him while they waited for the others to arrive. “Why not?” He asked.

Ennoshita hugged his knees with one of his arms while with his free hand he drew imaginary circles on the lawn.

“She.”

He didn’t need to add anything else for Akaashi to know that he was talking about Kiyoko, who had notified them that that afternoon she wouldn’t be present after having to study for her own exams.

“You do know that bisexual people exist, right?” Akaashi was glared by Ennoshita, and the captain of the team simply raised his hands because Tanaka liking two people of different sexes wasn’t a craziest idea. “I don’t think I'm the one to talk about it, but I'm sure one thing is to like someone and another is to consider a person cute or feel a certain type of attraction.” He continued, since even if given the possibility of Tanaka being bisexual, the Gryffindor could still feel different kind of feelings for them.

“You aren’t helping me, Akaashi.” Ennoshita let out a sigh.

“I warned you that I wasn’t the indicated to talk about it.”

His roommate chose to rest his chin on his knees.

“And which of the two would I be for Tanaka?”

“For the question he has asked you about Kunimi, I would say the first one.”

“I guess I get along with you because you don’t let me stay with both feet on the ground.”

“I thought it was because of the obligation of sharing a room.”

Ennoshita smiled when he heard him and extended his arm to move Akaashi's knees and make him unbalanced, since he liked to annoy him when Akaashi used the same sarcasm as him as well as to see the funny little smiles he held like the one he gave him at that moment before deciding to lie down on the lawn, and Ennoshita didn’t take long to copy him and then rest his eyes on the slightly cloudy sky wondering if his roommate could be right.

And while Ennoshita kept asking himself many questions at the same time, Kenma was heading towards the place where he knew that his two roommates were, letting his head only wonder why he was holding his broom between his arm and his body and was dressed in sports clothes when Sundays were supposed to be for rest, although that didn’t prevent him from holding his electronic device in his hands, and thanks to getting used to walking with that object from one side to the other without lending attention to his surroundings, he wasn’t surprised when he hit someone.

For a second he looked up to find a boy with orange hair and brown eyes who was only shorter than him by a few inches, and when he smiled widely, Kenma didn’t stop walking at the same time he turned his eyes again on the screen because he didn’t want to hear how they told him again that he should notice where he was going or that he should be careful when he walked.

However, he suddenly stopped when he heard a voice without bad intentions.

“Wow! A PSP at Hogwarts!” Exclaimed the one with whom he had collided who didn’t hesitate to approach him again, with his eyes on the electronic device in Kenma’s hands as if he was observing some kind of miracle. Kenma supposed that he had two Muggle parents or at least one because those were those who stopped him in the hall to ask him what game he was playing while those of families only composed of wizards usually observed the device with cero confidence and strangeness because the unknown it caused them rejection, although he had run into some people considered to be pureblood who had chosen to be curious instead of disgusted, Akaashi being few of them. “What were you playing?”

"Spider-Man Web of Shadows" He replied.

It was the game that Akaashi had given him for his promise to approach Kuroo to congratulate him on the captaincy instead of having him call him. His roomate was the son of wizard parents and he only knew the information about the electronic device that he had told him, but he wasn’t surprised when he saw that the game he had given him turned out to be one of the entertaining ones instead of one of the basics he already had, since he knew that Akaashi always invested all his efforts in what he did, regardless of whether he was giving away something he didn’t  know much about or taking the most advanced material test, so he didn’t doubt that for that moment it was possible for Akaashi to know more about the PSP than he no matter how fanatical of it he was.

Kenma was startled to hear a small cry of excitement from the person in front of him who started making strange poses as soon as he heard his answer.

“Gyaah! I love Spider-Man!” He folded the fingers of his hands to pretend that cobwebs came out of his wrists, “I know! I should find a spell that really allows me to throw cobwebs!” His face seemed to light up at that thought, “I could even use it in quidditch matches! Catch the quaffle in the air with the help of cobwebs!” He exclaimed excitedly before he held up a grimace of confusion, “Although I think that would be considered cheating,” Kenma thought the one in front of him was thinking seriously about the matter when suddenly his eyes went to the other object that he had had with him all the time but had been given a second place by the electronic device, “Do you play quidditch?! Is that your broom?” He added, pointing to the object under his arm.

The one with dyed hair glimpsed that he also carried a broom with him.

“Ah, yeah,” Was the only thing he replied.

"I'm also in the Quidditch team." He seemed extremely proud to be able to say those words along with a lively smile and a pose that probably in his mind seemed to make him look like some kind of super hero. “My name is Hinata Shouyou, I'm from Gryffindor!" The orange-haired one pointed to himself with pride.

“Kozume...”

“Kozume? Is that your name?”

Maybe it was because of the energy of his personality, because of his easy-going attitude, his way of expressing himself, the innocence in his gestures or the lack of bad intentions behind his words, but Kenma, who was known for not talking to many people as well as for being uncomfortable when he knew someone, chose to introduce himself as well.

“Kozume... Kenma. I'm from Ravenclaw.”

“So Kenma, what year are you in? I am fifth-year.”

“Sixth.”

“Damn it! You are my senpai! I'm sorry." An expression of regret settled on Hinata's face.

"Don’t worry," He expressed. “I don’t like those status relationships.”

He never believed that age was something for which they should classify or allow them to treat each other in a certain way, since he didn’t think that being older implied to deserve respect as well as being younger didn’t mean to be treated in a bad way. That being one of the reasons why despite not liking to move, he enjoyed being part of his house’s team, since there were no older ones who though they could role and make the team a monarchy being them on the top just because they turned out to be born a year earlier.

“And you like Quidditch?” Hinata asked him, being happy for knowing another player.

“Not particularly. I do it because I do it. It's not that I hate it, but I don’t like to get tired," Kenma replied thinking about what he would be doing for the next few hours, although he was glad to realize that thanks to the interruption of the orange-haired one, he would arrived later, meaning that he wouldn’t have to run. “But my friends play it, and without me they would probably have problems.”

“I think it’ll be more fun if you start to like it,” Hinata expressed cheerfully.

For him there was no possibility that quidditch wasn’t interesting.

“It's okay like it is. Anyway, it's something I'll do until I graduate.”

“What position do you play?”

"Seeker," He answered.

Kenma was startled again when on that occasion Hinata didn’t hesitate to open his eyes and let a kind of brightness characterize his pupils as well as he smiled widely.

“My best friend is also a seeker and he is in the team! Surely you’ll face each other! I’m a chaser!" He declared holding a bigger smile.

The one belonging to Ravenclaw studied him for a few seconds, and held a small smile.

“Kenma!”

Although only one of them was called, the two turned their eyes to the one who had exclaimed his name. Ennoshita beckoned him to hurry since the other members had already arrived and he was the only one missing so that practice could finally be given as started.

"Well, I guess we'll see each other, Shouyou," Was all he said before greeting him with an almost undetectable motion of his hand and then turning to his friend.

Hinata greeted him in the same way although enthusiastically, until he stopped doing it after realizing that if Kenma owned a broom and just headed for the quidditch field along with another boy, then he had again become confused on the training day, that being the reason why he came back running to the castle. 

* * *

 

“Yaku-san!!!”

Yaku's path to the quidditch field was interrupted when he suddenly found himself lying on the lawn because the boy who shouted his name had run to him to tug him, managing to make them both fall, the newcomer remaining on top of him watching him along with a big smile after again not having hesitated to invade his personal space every time in a worse way.

“Lev!” Yaku exclaimed his name irritated after having gone from standing and being calm to lying surprised on the lawn, his broom having been cast away from him. And despite hearing his tone of voice clearly angry, the fifth-year boy continued to smile widely. “Don’t do that, you idiot! You could hurt us!”

"I'm sorry." The gray-haired one giggled.

And Yaku remained totally serious, not because he was angry with him, but because of the small distance that Lev created between them by throwing him on the grass despite the fact that the one with russian’s origins incorporated to not stay on top of him. Those green eyes met his, and Yaku didn’t doubt to hit his head because no one seemed to have taught him that he should respect other’s personal spaces.

“OW!” Lev rubbed that part of his head with his hands.

"Damn crazier, don’t do that," Yaku complained.

"I'm sorry, it's ... today is my birthday, and I wanted you to know!" Lev said smiling broadly.

Yaku raised both eyebrows, and then sighed.

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks, Yaku-san!”

Regardless of having both of them fall back onto the turf although they had barely incorporated, the Hufflepuff hugged him and Yaku remained totally stiff, given that although during Nishinoya's birthday they exchanged a few more words until Lev began to imitate the follies that Bokuto begun to do with Nishinoya, anyway they continued to not know each other, although that didn’t seemed to matter to the fifth-year who continued hugging him after telling him it was his birthday, to which he reacted by deciding to pat him on the back.

“Why is it that you are so weird?” He murmured.

“I'm sorry Yaku-san! I’m crushing you with my body right?” Lev asked, being only a few inches away from him. “You look smaller even closer.”

Yaku made them both finally move away from each other when he bent his knee to stuff it into his stomach after listening to him, managing to get the gray-haired one to embrace that part of his body with his arms while he took the opportunity to get up and shake his hands.

"It’s your birthday and you are still a fool," Yaku expressed.

And looked at him with a grimace of confusion when instead of being offended by his words, Lev laughed before getting up too, again establishing a great height difference between them.

“Were you going to practice? Can I go see you?” He asked smiling.

“No.” Yaku answered without hesitation.

“But it's my birthday!”

“What a bad luck.”

“Yaku-san!”

The mentioned one crossed his arms. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Celebrate with other people?”

“It's my birthday so I decide what I do. Can I see you play?”

“What makes me sure you're not trying to spy on our team?”

"Yaku-san, I don’t need to spy on you to know that my team and I will win." Lev laughed.

But soon he stopped doing it when he felt a blow in one of his arms.

Yaku watched him with a raised eyebrow and let out a sigh.

He knew that it was likely that he wouldn’t stop insisting until he told him he could accompany him, so his mouth curved into a smile when he decided that Daichi would be the one to say whether to let him stay or not while they trained.

“Fine.”

“Seriously??” Lev asked holding a big smile.

Yaku returned to find himself totally serious as he approached him, and pulled down his yellow tie with black lines so that their faces were again only a few centimeters from each other.

“You have beautiful eyes Yaku-san.”

“Interrupt the training once, and you will regret it.”

The older of the two released him after mentioning those words that only made Lev nod quickly before heading to the quidditch field without waiting for him, to which Yaku decided to roll his eyes and bend over to take his broom, only to stay with his hand inches from it because suddenly his mind projected the excited greenish look in front of which he had been face to face just seconds ago, but quickly shook his head before taking his broom and finally go to the field of quidditch.

Even though Lev ended up considering that day one of his best birthdays not only because his morning started with a cake being thrown in his face followed by laughter from his housemates, including Yamaguchi, followed by the Gryffindor training he had been able to spot because Daichi allowed him to stay even if instead of focusing on all the players, he had just kept focused on one of the keepers of the team that had seen him from the corner of his eye to make sure that he wasn’t doing anything strange, and even if it finally ended when he decided to join his friends from his same year to continue celebrating, the next day he didn’t plan to waste the opportunity of all the students being present in the Great Hall after being the Halloween party, to consider that a second birthday party as well as remind to his friends the day before it had been his birthday.

The Great Hall was adorned with floating pumpkins containing a candle inside it as well as the corridors and common rooms were also decorated with other ornaments among which could be distinguished living bats, which Nishinoya, Yamamoto, and Tanaka didn’t hesitate approach to then be the three of them the ones running far away from the animals.

And although the dinner schedule was over, the tables were occupied by various sweets, cakes of all flavors, pancakes, and other snacks characterized by the colors and themes of Halloween, since the students had been allowed to continue wandering for the castle a little longer than usual for that special occasion, most opting to stay in the Great Hall while others decided to go to their common rooms and then return with costume accessories.

Ennoshita and Akaashi were returning to the Great Hall not because they decided to wear an accessory with them, but because Kenma decided to go back to their room regardless of whether the others stayed awake. He didn’t released his electronic device during the day and Peeves was known to take advantage of Halloween to perform jokes that exceeded his own levels, so the Ravenclaw duo preferred to accompany the dyed-haired one since the poltergeist used to direct his jokes towards other people when they were more than one.

And strangely, Ennoshita held a smile on his face.

“Why the smile?” Akaashi asked him after noticing the gesture.

Not because he wasn’t the type of person not to smile with continuity, even him being one of the people he knew who smiled the most, but because he hadn’t been doing it lately after being conflicted with his thoughts and feelings, which at the time were the motive of the animated gesture on his face.

"I decided to raise the white flag," Ennoshita replied, managing to confuse him. “I thought about all the possible outcomes, and your assumption about what Tanaka feels for me doesn’t sound so outlandish, so tonight I’ll be the same as always and I won’t let anger take hold of me.”

Akaashi just watched him silently.

However, when they barely found themselves in the Great Hall again, Ennoshita's smile disappeared. Not because he spotted Kiyoko wearing a headband with rabbit ears on her head, but because he glimpsed Tanaka and Yamamoto using the same ones, and he didn’t hesitate to raise his upper lip in disgust.

Neutrality was over.

“Akaashi, change of plans. I reject your theory," He muttered.

“Why?”

“I don’t care about the different kinds of love that exist. If I'm not the only one, it's none of my interest.”

“It’s your jealousy the one talking.”

Ennoshita frowned at his friend, hating that he was saying no more than the truth, but then he rested his eyes on the one belonging to Gryffindor, who although Ennoshita didn’t notice after his blindness was dominated by irritation, didn’t seem very comfortable with that accessory on his head.

“It's my need. After all, eagles hunt small mammals, don’t they? I guess tonight I will refrain from following my natural instincts.”

Akaashi watched his companion make large, determined steps until he approached the table of the house to which they belonged to, to sit there with his arms folded and frowning, and before he could follow him to copy his actions, the one who had previously remained by his side and called himself an eagle, was replaced by a boy with two-colored hair who could easily manifest being disguised as an owl after his hair being identical to that type of animal.

Not so far away from them at the Gryffindor's table, Daichi was looking around carefully, as not finding Nishinoya was worrying him because he sensed that he would soon be trying to fix a disaster committed by those of his own house, although being able to visualize Tanaka and Yamamoto together gave him a respite of relief, so he took the opportunity to approach the pot of chocolate wands, only to have his fingers touched someone else's and stop concentrating on watching those who composed his team to realize who was the person whose hand his had touched by mistake.

A gray-haired boy who had a mole under his left eye and wore the Slytherin uniform as well as a headband with an aureole on his head, outlined the friendly smile that characterized him, making Daichi think that he really was in front of such an angel as in front of the doors of paradise.

"Sorry," Suga inquired, still smiling.

As it used to happen every time he was around, Daichi felt that his brain stopped working. He didn’t expect the Slytherin to completely distract him with his presence, let alone the hand with which he had met. He was totally enthralled with the appearance of the boy who was the only one to make his characterizing attitude collapse and all words disappear from his vocabulary.

Suga giggled when he saw him being a statue.

“You wanted?” He asked, pointing to the pot.

Daichi looked at the object that contained the chocolate wands, and then rested his eyes on him again. He continued equally puzzled, enough not to realize that also, not far from them Kuroo and Yaku were together trying unsuccessfully to contain their laughter as they watched him, the first of them wearing a headband with red horns. Somehow he managed to shake his head, although he had certainly wanted to take some of that appetizer.

Once Suga turned around after taking some chocolate wands, Daichi knew that was his chance. He couldn’t pass more opportunities in front of him even though he was totally nervous and didn’t know what to say to start the conversation between them. It was the right moment to get him to speak to him, and he knew that if he remained silent because his nerves had betrayed him on each previous occasion, he would begin to get angry at himself for belonging to the house where bravery was the most important thing and he wasn’t capable to prove it.

“I'm Sawamura Daichi!” He exclaimed.

The one belonging to Slytherin suddenly turned around when he heard him. He looked around seeming to be confused, and then his hazel eyes rested on the one who had apparently addressed him as well as pointing to his ownself before speaking. “Are you talking to me?” He asked completely confused.

Daichi wanted to disappear as soon as he heard him, since he didn’t expected to hear those words.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

The gray-haired one smiled when he heard him and approached the table again.

“Well...“ He ducked his head to avoid the seated in front of him being able to glimpse the slight blush that decorated his cheeks at that moment, although Daichi remained stupefied when he noticed the change of tonality of his face. “I've seen you walk away several times when I’m with Kuroo or Yaku. I always thought that I’m not for your liking because every time I am with the people we know, you decide to go instead of approaching.”

The Gryffindor shook his jaw as the boy in front of him felt embarrassed for expressing aloud that even though Daichi had never approached him, he had seen him take one step forward and another back when he was present. And the one with black hair and eyes of the same color remained bewildered when he realized that not being encouraged enough to approach thanks to the nerves that he caused him and not because he didn’t want to be in the same place as him, had given the boy in front of him a completely wrong meaning to his actions.

Daichi started to deny and move his hands quickly.

“I don’t dislike you, of course I like you. I mean, I don’t understand how you could displease someone,” The words that came out of his mouth by themselves and that at that moment made him carry a blush on their cheeks, also managed to get the one in front of him to look up again and watched him with a smile on his face. “I guess I'm a bit shy.”

The gray-haired boy chose to sit in front of him before letting out an entertaining giggle.

“A shy Gryffindor? That's new," He expressed, smiling broadly.

Daichi smiled awkwardly.

"I’m Sugawara Koushi," He decided to present himself. “But you can call me Suga.”

They both knew who the other was, but finally managed to present themselves personally. The two smiled at each other, and Yaku and Kuroo clenched their fists together in a way to celebrate the new victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Kageyama cares about the past and the future.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aghhh I'm so happy because I have been an entire week withouth being able to write because I had a block, but I decided to focus and finally I'm writing something. I decided to go with the camp rock au.
> 
> Sorry, today's chapter's a little short.
> 
> I can't thank you enough for reading!!

When he got up at that hour, he was surprised to notice that a bed in the room lay empty.

Oikawa's.

Iwaizumi used to be the first to get up because he preferred to run in the morning to clear his head before breakfast, and always spotted his three roommates sleeping peacefully while he changed and chose to jog around the castle, so waking and seeing one of the empty beds made him raise an eyebrow, since his best friend never got up early and much less leave the room in case he did, but he anyway chose to change and leave the room so as not to waste the morning. He went down the stairs that led to the common room, and soon he found out the answer to the question that had lashed him since he had opened his eyes a few minutes ago.

He caught a glimpse of Oikawa and Kuroo talking by the window. They were the only ones present as it was still too early for another Slytherin student to come out of their rooms to go down to the common room. The two wore their pajamas and were sitting quite close, both with expressions that indicated that they had been there several minutes ago, and while Kuroo watched through the window with his chin resting on the palm of his hand, Oikawa seemed to be the one to talk the most.

Iwaizumi wanted to pretend that he didn’t feel the discomfort that suddenly appeared in his chest as soon as he saw them, but he knew that it was jealousy that he couldn’t control no matter how hard he tried. So he preferred to stop hiding because running would help him get distracted, maybe he would even make a loop around the Black Lake that happened to be the view of the window next to which they were, but both Oikawa and Kuroo stopped talking and rested their eyes on him when he crossed the room as they didn’t expect anyone else to be awake.

"Good morning, Iwa-chan," He heard Oikawa say.

However, the only thing he did before leaving the common room was to make a simple gesture with his hand, and instead of wondering if something happened to his best friend, Oikawa smiled broadly while Kuroo looked at him with an amused smile. 

* * *

Kageyama thought he would break his own broom if he kept holding the stick of it with such force. He was totally serious and his body was extremely tense, and although the practice had gone by well and the exercises in a normal manner, he was rigid from head to toe and anyone who saw him wouldn't hesitate to get away from him instead of approaching, although that used to happen despite he was tense or not.

He had been chose as one of the starting players.

And Tanaka and Hinata too, so they would make up the trio of chasers.

They were accustomed to practicing together, and the strategies they devised together with the other components of the team were designed so that each of them stood out in their own way, and so that they could rest on each other in case the confidence of someone began to crack for some reason. He was satisfied with the time they had spent practicing since his synchronization was also improving with the two that would be by his side, with Tanaka because he started getting along with him both inside and outside the quidditch pitch, and with Hinata because practicing more hours after the official practices had helped them to begin to feel that they were close to achieving a great balance between the two.

So the problem wasn’t that he had been chosen as a starting, nor who would be by his side.

The problem was with those they would face each other as a trio.

Kageyama thought that the memories of the past wouldn’t attack him again and would remain locked in the space of his mind where he decided to keep them, but being few days left before the Quidditch Tournament was inaugurated with them facing Slytherin, he managed to get those moments back to appear in his head to repeat without pause.

Being rejected.

Nobody being there to receive his passes.

He didn’t want it to happen again, he didn’t want to be left out again.

“Nervous about the game?”

His thoughts stopped momentarily from tormenting him when he heard Daichi’s voice after he decided to approach him, since he had understood that the aura around the fifth-year didn’t indicate that he wanted to be left alone, but quite the opposite, that he needed to express why he went throughout practice silent as well as with an indecipherable expression on his face.

"A little," He answered.

A little fell short of the nerves he felt.

“You heard who are the titular players of them, am I right?”

Daichi didn’t hesitate to ask him knowing that that was what kept him so upset.

Kageyama nodded, given that while he would stand on his broom along with Tanaka and Hinata, on the other side, Iwaizumi, Oikawa and Kindaichi would stand ready to demonstrate the synchronization between them as the triad of Slytherin chasers. He hadn’t been surprised to hear that as well as him, Kindaichi had also been chosen to play as a starting player, because although Slytherin had a full reserve of players and among them there were skilled students, he didn’t doubt that they decided to take advantage of Kindaichi's accustomed to play with the seventh-year Slytherin duo so that the synchronization between them was demonstrated in front of everyone within the quidditch field.

They would face each other when up to last year they had played together, or at least made the attempt. And next to him would be nothing more and nothing less than Iwaizumi and Oikawa, whose way of playing influenced by the good communication between them and the lack of need to talk to each other to know what the other thought, had been put before the eye of the rest of the students during the previous year, not to mention that each one also stood out for their own abilities, Oikawa being the most outstanding.

It was his first official match as part of his house team and he would face three of the people with whom he had previously shared a team.

"Everything I learned," Kageyama began, “I learned it from him.”

The four together with Kunimi had been on the same team, but if there was someone Kageyama admired as much as he feared, it was Oikawa. The one whose abilities he considered surprising as well as dangerous because he had the opportunity to spot them with his own eyes, not only within the Hogwarts quidditch field, but also outside of it.

“Then he is the Great King!”

Suddenly Kageyama stopped keeping his gaze on the lawn as Daichi his in him when a scream unwrapped them from the atmosphere in which they had sunk. And they weren’t the only ones watching Hinata, since the rest of the players also stopped talking to each other after hearing his exclamation.

“If you’re the King, then he is the Great King!” He exclaimed again.

“Don't call me that way!” Kageyama growled.

But he controlled himself as soon as Daichi gave him a quiet smile as he rested a hand on his shoulder while Yamamoto and Tanaka started to laugh after hearing the deduction that the orange-haired one made, but promptly the two approached to hold various types of smiles as well as different poses that showed confidence and security.

"I'll be with you, so you don’t have to worry," Tanaka assured him.

"Don’t doubt I'll do everything I can to protect you," Yamamoto added.

"You are a great player," Daichi said looking at him. “And don’t forget what I said. Its teams what we face, not people.”

The fifth-year placed his eyes on the seventh-year, since even if it hadn’t been more than two sentences, those words on his part meant a lot both for being the captain of the team and also for being from his own house. Daichi gave him a smile and patted him on the back before heading to where Yaku and Nishinoya had just descended from their brooms.

Kageyama watched the grass for a few seconds before returning to rest his gaze on the sixth-year duo who had begun to fight each other to see who did the pose that more confidence radiated while Hinata seemed to be the judge. After seeing them, everyone wouldn’t doubt that they were an easy team to beat and pass over, but Kageyama learned that each member of the Gryffindor team had their own ability not matter they were starters or substitutes. After so much wishing it, he finally managed to join his house team and even was chosen as to play as a starter, so he couldn’t begin to get nervous just for knowing who his opponents were. He only had to stop focusing his attention on them to focus on the players that would be by his side, one of whom at that moment made everyone rest their eyes on him when he held a nervous smile as well as an indecipherable expression.

“Is it a bad time to say that I have never played in a game before?” Hinata asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: An old rivalry settles in the quidditch field.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're liking the story so far!! It's a really, really long shot. Like, I'm ashamed of the number of chapters this has.
> 
> In case there are doubts, the teams are composed in this way:
> 
> Gryffindor:   
> Keeper: Yaku  
> Beaters: Yamamoto, Daichi   
> Chasers: Kageyama, Tanaka, Hinata  
> Seeker: Inuoka
> 
> Slytherin:  
> Keeper: Daishou   
> Beaters: Yahaba, Kuroo  
> Chasers: Oikawa, Kindaichi, Iwaizumi  
> Seeker: Futakuchi

Going back to the times when the enmity between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin was the best known, the rivalry between the houses that carried their surnames became a fundamental part of both their relationship and their own history. The bitterness between Gryffindor and Slytherin was the most wanted and acclaimed only by the bases on which it was settled, and by the characters who had promised to face no matter what instance it was. And although at present, both houses had made much of that hostility disappear after deciding that the past couldn’t condemn them, they always received a confrontation between them with joy, enthusiasm and emotion. It was the most wanted fight and the students who belonged to both houses could feel the adrenaline rush through their bodies and the exaltation of their thoughts. With the students encouraging their respective teams from the stands, exclaiming their names and the names of their houses, they made it clear that the rivalry between the houses that would inaugurate the Quidditch Tournament, were those two whose rivalry turned out to be the most glorified.

Courage versus determination.

Snakes versus lions.

Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

Tanaka and Yamamoto flattered each other after seeing themselves again in the quidditch uniforms, since like the others, they had the colors scarlet and gold and wore the appropriate protections because Quidditch wasn’t characterized as a calm and free sport of danger, while Kageyama observed himself with what seemed to be stars of enthusiasm and pride, at the same time that Inuoka looked at the tent he was in after often dreaming of being part of the players that waited in it before leaving instead of being part of the crowd of students whose screams he was listening to, achieving to instead of feeling nervous about being chosen as the starter seeker, his excitement and desire to play only continue to grow.

“You look like a degraded carrot, Shouyou!” Nishinoya exclaimed before laughing.

With his orange hair, and the shield of the house to which they all belonged in one of the upper corners of the red tunic that they wore over the diver with red and yellow horizontal stripes, plus the white pants that were covered underneath the knees for the brown boots, the kepeer of Gryffindor that for that occasion would be substitute after the vice-captain would play in that position, wasn’t totally incorrect to have expressed those words.

But Nishinoya remained confused when Hinata didn’t say anything about his comment.

Hinata kept his hand clinging to his broom while the pallor began to take over his face as well as an expression of nervousness accompanied by a grimace of uneasiness. As he had stated during the last training, he had never played in a match before even though he had always been a great quidditch fan, since in his neighborhood he never met children of magicians who wanted to play, and although with Inuoka they had practiced, a game of two wasn’t possible, so he was extremely nervous after that being the first time he would be flying over his broom to be part of an official match.

He always played with his friends from his same year and during training they formed various teams to face each other and practice, but they were minutes away from facing one of the other teams, and anxiety had finally tamed him.

"My belly hurts," He managed to say, wrapping his free arm around his stomach.

“It’s normal!” Tanaka exclaimed approaching him to pat him on the back.

Which only sparked the chaos inside the Gryffindor tent.

Hinata threw up on Tanaka by the gesture on his back and Yamamoto and Nishinoya began to laugh out loud, while Kageyama hit himself with one hand and Daichi and Yaku remained concerned at the same time that Kinoshita and Narita rushed to get the necessary materials so that the tent remained as clean as they also had to get new pants for Tanaka. Everyone's screams were heard everywhere as Daichi tried to maintain control and Yaku kept Yamamoto and Nishinoya at bay so that those wouldn’t continue to laugh once Tanaka came back in new pants while Inuoka patted Hinata on the back to assure him that everything would be fine.

However, everyone remained silent when Kageyama spoke.

"Don’t be nervous, Tanaka-san will be with us," He expressed, looking at the one with orange hair that rested his eyes on him as well as the others present. “And as long as I’m here, you are invincible, so don’t panic.”

Hinata felt that suddenly his nerves were replaced by adrenaline.

And the atmosphere of seriousness that had reigned for a minute, was terminated when Tanaka let out a laugh before approaching the black-haired one to slap him on the back, although he didn’t hesitate to remain moderately far away in case he too felt like vomiting.

“That's right!” He exclaimed confidently and with a cheerful smile. “We're here for you," He added watching Hinata.

The one with orange hair smiled, but he returned to remain serious when like the others, he heard the whistle that indicated that both teams should prepare to enter the Quidditch field. Daichi gave him a quiet smile and positioned himself in front of everyone because he was the captain of the team and therefore the one to lead the triangle of players they would form once they got on their brooms and left the tent.

He didn’t think it was a bad decision to have made the three fifth-years starting players, since the three had their respective skills and had been chosen to play because they believed in their abilities, and because in addition, Tanaka, Yamamoto and he would be there to help them as Yaku would observe them from his position. And besides, if he didn’t have faith in his own decisions, then nobody else would.

Another whistle was heard followed by a wave of enthusiastic cries from the students in the stands before the tent opened, and they climbed on their brooms to finally their feet stop touching the ground and begin to feel the wind that moved their hair when they flew around the Quidditch field with the excitement running through their bodies and the enthusiasm to awaken them more than they already were.

The students of the four houses were in the stands while the faculty was already in their respective place within the quidditch field, leaving Coach Ukai as the only teacher to be with his feet on the grass. They turned around to get used to the feeling of being away from the flat ground, and soon their eyes rested on the opposite team that had performed the same actions as them. Kuroo was leading the triangle of players characterized by wearing green and gray horizontal stripes as well as green tunics with the Slytherin shield standing out in one of the top corners of the same, and like them, they wore white pants and brown boots.

Daichi wasn’t carried away by the fact that more screams seemed to be heard when the team in front of them greeted the students present in the stands, since he knew that Oikawa and Kuroo had always been the most wanted people in the house to which they belonged to, and that the fact that both were Quidditch players as well as the captain and the vice-captain of their team only increased the screaming on the part of the female population present in the stands. And he chuckled when Iwaizumi hit Oikawa in the head after he started to greet those around him as he blew kisses and winked.

Soon Daichi and Kuroo approached the center of the stadium and clasped their hands tightly together with enthusiastic smiles on their faces that indicated that although they were close friends and were for each other, and were proud to see each other occupying their same position in their own teams because they thought they deserved it, they wouldn’t hesitate to try to defeat each other.

"May the best win," Daichi said, trying to contain his laughter.

"Don’t be bothered if it's us," Kuroo smiled amused.

However, their expressions changed completely as soon as they turned around.

Daichi sensed that his equal in the other team didn’t fully believe in his words even though they had been accompanied by a smile that probably would have deceived everyone in the stands, but he also knew that he couldn’t trust the fact that Kuroo had had problems with his captaincy from the beginning, because that didn’t mean his team wasn’t composed of skilled players, some of whom Daichi was surprised to see as substitutes, since like most of those present, he wondered why the Slytherin captain decided that both Yahaba and Futakuchi were starting players when they were among the people who didn’t show the most commitment, being them the ones to top the list of the ones who missed practice the most.

Soon both captains went to the other members of their teams after each one was in a round with them. That was the moment where they would say the first words they would manifest to them as the leaders of their respective teams, and they knew that they should intone them with confidence to increase the excitement of the players under their leadership.

“Gryffindor, let’s win!” Daichi exclaimed.

He knew that he could affirm that the members of his team were already considered enthusiastic and easy to convince them to do their best, so he decided to pronounce that expression, after which they all joined their hands in the center and raised their arms to then break the round and prepare.

While the Slytherin round was still intact.

Daichi had taken it right, because although Kuroo expressed those words to him in a certain way and along with a smile that hid all his emotions, that didn’t mean that his emotions stopped tormenting him. He was nervous because it was the beginning of the Quidditch season as well as the first game they played as the new team of the house they belong to, so he had to show that the previous captain made the right decision by inheriting his position to him in the team, which he knew was already being questioned even if they hadn’t even played officially yet. He had doubts and didn’t feel as confident as he would have liked to feel, but if he showed himself that way in front the players around him who expected him to say something, then his confidence would only continue to decreased.

He wasn’t completely sure of what words to say, because if in that round there were players who weren’t willing to listen to him and just as willing to make it clear that they didn’t do it even if they had been chosen as starters to play in that match, then he didn’t understand what words could he say to gain the trust of those around him. He only knew that he felt the nerves having replaced the blood in his veins as well as the restlessness supplanted the air in his respiratory system.

He raised his eyebrows slightly when an idea appeared in his mind.

“We are like the blood in our veins, we must flow without sto-“

"Not all of us studied Ancient Studies," Futakuchi interrupted him, looking at him.

“What does that have to do with Ancient Studies?” Daishou immediately asked the sixth-year.

"It's basic human anatomy," Iwaizumi stated eyeing the seeker with a frown.

Oikawa turned his gaze to the one next to him who remained silent watching the front of his broom because his speech attempt to give them team spirit had failed, but he didn’t hesitate to rest his hand on Kuroo's back and dedicate him a smile while that those in the same round promptly began to discuss the various contents of the subjects dictated at Hogwarts.

"We trust you.” The brunet declared.

Everyone remained silent when Kuroo looked at him and Oikawa looked at them.

Nobody said anything else before dispersing like the other players of the opposing team, and after returning to cross glances with each other, Oikawa and Kuroo finally were the last to join the central round between the two teams formed in the center of the quidditch field, getting everyone to look at each other for different reasons as well with different emotions. Yaku was chosen to defend the trio of the Gryffindor hoops as well as Daishou on the other side of the field, so Nishinoya, like Hanamaki, Matsukawa, Atsumu, Osamu, and Suga, would watch the match from their respective places as well like Kinoshita and Narita. While in both teams all of the fifth-years were chosen to play as starters.

The only fifth-year wearing the green uniform observed who had previously belonged to his team while the other one didn’t hesitate to look away after feeling Kindaichi’s eyes on him at the same time that Kunimi, who was in the stands because the four people with whom he had met on the same team would play against each other as well as because he had wanted to be the moral support for his best friend even if they were from different houses, glimpsed both gestures. While at his side, the sixth-year trio of his same house was also present. Akaashi didn’t take his eyes off those in the Quidditch field, Ennoshita watched everyone except a particular member of Gryffindor who seconds earlier had glimpsed him on the rostrum as well as noticing that he didn’t seem willing to pay attention or greet him with his hand indicating that he wished him good luck, and Kenma, at whose side Bokuto didn’t doubt to show that he was in favor of the house characterized by the green and silver colors, for once wasn’t holding his PSP because he couldn’t take his eyes off the captain of that house. And like him and the Hufflepuff by his side, the Gryffindor captain, Akaashi, Suga, and Oikawa, knew that although Kuroo's face showed nothing but determination and concentration, was about to be devoured by his nerves.

"Make it a fair game." Coach Ukai mentioned holding the quaffle.

Oikawa rested his eyes on Kageyama but soon his attention was focused on the orange-haired boy who he was arguing with to tie the laces of his boots, and Hinata stopped focusing on his housemate when he felt his whole body tense after being looked at by the one he considered the Great King.

But finally the whistle was blown, and the quaffle was under Iwaizumi's possession.

Although he could only carry the ball for a few seconds because one of the liberated bludgers interrupted his path and Tanaka took the opportunity to steal the quaffle from him and soon find himself accompanied by the other two chasers in his same house as they went at full speed to the hoops in front of which Daishou was. The chase they had unleashed turned to their advantage when Daichi also threw the other bludger at Oikawa, although the sixth-year chaser passed it to Kageyama so that Iwaizumi couldn’t recover the ball he had lost, and after Kindaichi was following Hinata, they demonstrated one of the many tactics they had practiced during training, since Kageyama approached his torso to his broomstick to increase his speed as he approached the lower ring of the three to attract the attention of Daishou, to which they managed to score the first points of the match because Kageyama threw the quaffle up instead of to the hoop and Tanaka went to take it and throw it towards the center one.

“And the first points of the first match of this season are for Gryffindor!” It was listened.

The students holding red flags with golden details jumped from the excitement and applauded happily at the same time that the players representing the rival house held various types of reactions that had in common annoyance while Tanaka approached Kageyama with his arms raised, only causing him to look at him confused.

“He wants to high-five!” Hinata exclaimed watching them.

Kageyama observed the boy in front of him with a distorted grimace before realizing that they achieved the first ten points of the game in favor of their house because they had worked together to get it, and he allowed his hands to be hit with his, making Tanaka let out a laugh as well as the triad of Slytherin chasers staying stupefied just like Kunimi on the rostrum. But quickly Iwaizumi shook his head to stop being surprised because he saw Kageyama high-fived with another person and took advantage that the trio of Gryffindor chasers remained distracted so he could ask the quaffle to Daishou and soon find himself flying to the other side of the field.

Kuroo deflected a bludger so that Oikawa could mark the same rhythm as his best friend and Kindaichi didn’t doubt to join them in order to get the attention to focus on the side of the quidditch field where Yaku awaited them, being able to see Hinata failing to try to interrupt the pass between the seventh-year duo of Slytherin in the air, which allowed them to approach him until suddenly his visual field as well as theirs was interrupted by Futakuchi who flew by means of the play earning Oikawa to follow him with his eyes and Tanaka taking advantage of his distraction to steal the quaffle from his own hand.

Yaku again found himself without any company so he allowed himself to look away from the players in front of him who regrouped from the other side of the court to realize that the Slytherin seeker had ruined the play of his housemates not because he was chasing the snitch, but because he really wanted to thwart the movement, because as soon as he saw Inuoka flying at full speed near the area where Ravenclaw students were, he also glimpsed the small golden ball he was chasing.

On the other side of the field, Kuroo managed to get the quaffle to find itself in favor of their house after having thrown a bludger towards Tanaka that managed to get Iwaizumi to steal it from him, but his eyes rested on the other beater of  his team whose task he wasn’t doing because it would have been easier for Yahaba to throw the bludger since the ball had passed close to him instead of Kuroo moving to interrupt his path and diverting it towards the Gryffindor chaser whose play was frustrated by him. Kuroo continued to watch him for a few seconds before approaching the triad of chasers from his own house who again broke into Yaku's field of vision.

Yamamoto directed a bludger towards Kindaichi that he was able to evade and make it end up going against Hinata because he had flown that way on purpose, so he could conclude with the pass that Iwaizumi had made to Oikawa so that he would throw it to him and in that way throw it towards one of the hoops after having also been released from Kageyama because Kuroo diverted the other of the bludgers towards him.

The fifth-year raised his fists in the air at the same time that Oikawa patted him on the back and Iwaizumi ruffled his hair while the three were watched by Kageyama.

“I want to touch the quaffle too!”

That scream at his side quickly made his attention rest in that orange-haired one of his same year whose expression indicated that he wanted to stop being the only chaser in still not having touched the ball they passed each other to score points.

“I already know that!” Kageyama exclaimed in the same tone.

Tanaka received the quaffle sent by Yaku at the same time that Yamamoto evaded a bludger from his path, but soon his attention was rested on the players who started chasing him, as the others of the Slytherin team did the same, not because it was strange to see a chaser chasing another, but because it was highly irregular that they were a beater and the seeker those who were following him.

Yahaba and Futakuchi stood side by side chasing him after having achieved that the true triad of chasers of their same team crossed gazes with each other because their positions had been stolen, giving the three of them the chance to see the way in which Kuroo couldn’t divert a bludger to stop Tanaka because he had to hit the same ball to prevent it from snatching against Yahaba, who after following the chaser of his same year had left him in charge of being the only one to defend all his team from the two bludgers present at the match.

The sixth-year Gryffindor chaser took advantage of the fact that his path continued without being interrupted to travel much of the field with the ball under his possession until he managed to find himself a few centimeters from the Slytherin hoops, which defense was totally mocked after Daishou tried to understand why Yahaba and Futakuchi were also approaching him and resting their eyes on Kageyama at the same time when Tanaka gave the quaffle to him, only for the Gryffindor to get another ten points in his favor when from one second to the next the quaffle was touched by Hinata to end up being basked in the hoop of one of the sides.

And the confusion in the face of the Slytherin keeper was remarkable because not only didn’t he understand when the fifth-year duo of chasers had made a pass fast enough so that he couldn’t notice it, but also because he being able to spot Yahaba and Futakuchi indicated that neither of them was fulfilling their respective roles in the team after the two had acted as chasers by having followed Tanaka instead of the first of them evading bludgers and the second chasing the snitch, and he continued disoriented although he passed the quaffle to Oikawa that through a denial with his head told him not to notice the sixth-year duo of of their team.

The brunet moved on his broom until he suddenly stopped because a bludger had been a few inches from hitting the front of his broom and therefore caused him to lose his balance, which it would had done in case he didn’t had reacted with anticipation, and when he looked up he saw Kuroo gesturing that he was sorry for not having arrived to divert the bludger so that it wouldn’t interrupt his path, but Oikawa couldn’t blame him. Yahaba wasn’t playing in his position as a beater so the captain of his team was trying to repel all of their bludgers on his own and without the help of anyone else, which explained why he wasn’t able to get the bludgers all the time because the game was designed so that two beaters would prevent the other players from being hit, not just one.

Hinata took advantage of the fact that the one with brown hair had stopped to steal the quaffle from him and observe it as if it was the greatest treasure was under his possession until he turned his head to realize that just as it had happened with Tanaka, the sixth-year duo of Slytherin was behind him, the only difference being that on that occasion, just as they were chasing Hinata, Iwaizumi and Kindaichi were after them.

Oikawa and Kuroo exchanged glances until the latter's eyes fell on one of the other team's beaters when he was sure that Daichi hit one of the bludgers with his bat to prevent it from hitting Kindaichi instead of making it the same to go against any of them.

And finally his nervousness was replaced with anger.

“You aren’t chasers, be on your respective positions!” He exclaimed.

The sixth-year Slytherin duo seemed to ignore his words completely as they kept approaching Hinata until a few inches from both of them to lock him in between, the orange-haired one duff dropping the quaffle down because they had told him what he should do in case he didn’t see another way out, and Kageyama was the one to catch it very quickly before approaching at full speed to the hoops and getting his house to continue with an increasingly bigger advantage.

The students of Gryffindor celebrated as well as Tanaka achieved the tremor in Hinata's body for being cornered to be replaced by a shy smile after being congratulated while he also congratulated Kageyama for having scored in favor of the house they all belonged to. But the three of them were the only ones to remain oblivious to the atmosphere that the opposing team suddenly radiated.

Yahaba and Futakuchi looked at each other before the first frowned and the second crossed his arms, demonstrating their displeasure after not managing to maneuver the fifth-year chaser of Gryffindor. Daishou watched them with a frown as well as Iwaizumi who in turn was watched by Kindaichi along with a grimace of worry and confusion, and Oikawa and Kuroo looked at each other.

The Slytherin sixth-year duo just made it clear that they didn’t want to hear.

The first official rejection was revealed as well as the first disobedience was manifested.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa surreptitiously moved a few inches when they saw Suga crossing his arms as well as holding a serious expression on his face.

And Kuroo sighed knowing the match was, and would only be, nothing more than a disaster for Slytherin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Suga is both happy and sad.


	26. Chapter 26

Daichi watched through the window of the Gryffindor common room in silence while everyone around him was shouting with joy, as well as jumping and exclaiming the name of the house to which they all belonged with pride and emotion while also praising the players that showed themselves in the game, and who proved to be the right choices to be starters. Nishinoya, Yamamoto and Tanaka embraced each other letting tears to run down their cheeks because many girls were formed around them to appreciate them even though the first one didn’t played while Hinata and Inuoka couldn’t sit still and Kageyama watched everyone who approached him with an expression of horror because he didn’t like people who didn’t know anything about Quidditch to told him how well he had played. A real party was taking place in the Gryffindor common room since students belonging to that house believed they had the right to celebrate after the team beat Slytherin during the opening of the Quidditch season, since only a few minutes of the game elapsed before Inuoka appeared in front of everyone with the snitch in his possession, making Gryffindor to be consecrated as the winner of the first game of the season against those considered their rivals.

But while everyone celebrated the victory, the captain of the team responsible for getting it, remained by the window without celebrating or smiling like everyone else did even if they had achieved victory under his leadership.

"Aren’t you smiling a lot, Daichi?” He heard, and a smiling Yaku took place in front of him.

The team captain giggled when he heard him.

"You don’t look very happy either," He replied.

The one who led the team with him smiled although he was right.

“I can’t celebrate a victory if I know that we didn’t achieve it in a good way,” Yaku expressed.

“I’m happy. I mean, we won and the fifth-years we incorporated were able to adapt without problems to us and our way of playing. Yamamoto and Tanaka had a good run and Kageyama scored more points than anyone. Inuoka has taken off the pressure of not being faster than an older and more experienced player, and Hinata followed all of our tips.”

“But…”

“I can’t consider that it was a victory.”

“Not when the opposite team wasn’t really the one we expected to face.” Yaku finished since both thought the same.

Like the other team members, they were aware that unlike them, the Slytherin team was going through several problems, the first of them being the fact that some players didn’t respect their captain or the decisions made by the team, preferring to follow their own tactics although those decisions did cost them the victory of a game. Which explained why despite being happy for the points in their favor and the good start of the tournament, the leaders of the Gryffindor team weren’t willing to celebrate if they knew that the opposing team played with disadvantages created by themselves.

"I suppose you must also be concerned about Suga," Yaku inquired. And he smiled broadly as he felt Daichi's intrigued look on him. "I should congratulate you for having managed to speak to him," He added with a laugh.

The Gryffindor captain bit his lower lip and shook his head, but then let out a sigh before smiling.

“I am. I'm worried because I know he cares about the team of his house," He said seriously, “But I guess I should be glad that there is now the possibility that he shares that concern with me," He added.

He smiled sideways when he realized that he could say he was able to establish a conversation with the gray-haired one who didn’t doubt that was downhearted by the defeat of his house in the first quidditch match of the tournament, since he had finally cheered talk to him only to realize that exchanging words between them was the easiest thing in the world.

But Daichi opted to take the sudden change of conversation in his favor as well as to observe his friend totally amused.

“You aren’t free to say anything. You know who our next rival is,” He expressed.

“Hufflepuff,” Yaku didn’t understand the reason of his words.

“When are you going to accept that you like him?”

The vice-captain gave a genuine and immediate laugh as soon as he heard him, since he knew whose particular player of that house he was referring to. The one who during his birthday had asked him to watch him train, the one who always interrupted him when he was calm, and the one that had applauded in the stands when the game was over and Gryffindor was proclaimed the winner of the game.

“He is obsessed with me. That's all." Yaku stated.

“You know I saw you before our training. I saw how you looked at him and how he looked at you," Daichi inquired as he raised his eyebrows repeatedly, causing Yaku to roll his eyes before smiling sideways. “He's obsessed with you because you let him become obsessed with you." He added.

“Nonsense. Don’t try to play with me psychologically.”

"I only say what I see," The captain raised his hands innocently. “You don’t reject him when he approaches you.”

“Because if I do he keeps insisting to stay close, it's easier to accept him.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Yaku crossed his arms when he realized that there was no point in trying to be against the one who seemed determined to bother him only because he had begun to maintain a certain kind of relationship with Lev that was based only on accepting that he was by his side. Daichi held up an amused smile and winked at him before getting up to be soon wrapped up in a hug for his team's sixth-year triad that probably wouldn’t sleep all night, and Yaku let out a sigh.

Daichi was in the uncertain.

He didn’t like Lev.

His dislike for him had only diminished.

And while he had only begun to tolerate him and perhaps started to get used to him chasing him everywhere, if there was something he would never get used to, was the sixth-year triad of his own house and team that at that moment made him stop being the only one without celebrating after the three took the chair in which he was sitting from the legs of the same to lift him in the air while he continued sitting and get him to cling to the armrest of it to stay alive so in that way it would be impossible for him to kill the trio a year younger than him who already begun to regret what they did after seeing his serious face, while not so far from them, Daichi approached Hinata after congratulating Inuoka for having given them the victory.

“And? Did you like to play your first game?” He asked him.

Daichi knew his answer as soon as a glow settled in Hinata's eyes.

The orange-haired one didn’t stop running from one side to the other since the game was over and they turned out to be the winners, because although that turned out to be a short game because Inuoka caught the snitch in a short time, he still was able to enjoy his first official match all the time. He felt the adrenaline accompanying him all the time as well as the desire to score point after point, to see the quaffle going through one of the three rings of the opposing team, as he also was fortunate to be able to try his first win together with his best friend and the rest of the players, and he couldn’t doubt that a smile appeared on his face when he realized that Kageyama beat the other team player that always seemed to bother him, as well as thinking that instead of shouting at each other, the two of them made good passes that had thrown down the Slytherin defense, so he was happy and full of energy.

“Yes!” He replied, summing up all his emotions in that expression.

“Good, because I don’t regret having allowed you to join the team.”

The emotion in Hinata's body only continued to grow, making Daichi not regret having chosen him as one of the starting chasers, but he avoid mentioning it because he already had enough people who probably wouldn’t sleep that night to add another one.

“Thank you!” Hinata exclaimed before starting to jump in his place.

Daichi hit his forehead with his own hand and tried to get help from his vice-captain who he glimpsed aiming his wand at the sixth-year trio that ran from one side to the other to prevent Yaku from casting a spell on them, so he returned to sticking himself in the head realizing that his players were as skilled as clumsy.

Or at least most of them.

He took advantage of Inuoka appearing to jump along with Hinata to approach the other that made up the trio of fifth year he had chosen to play during the game that day, and who unlike the others, remained with his back leaning against the wall while looking around with a serious face although the atmosphere was festive.

“You know, I think we have a great reason to celebrate,” Daichi said.

Kageyama observed him thinking that he was no longer as invisible as he thought, because at every party someone from the team had approached to talk to him.

"I'm celebrating," The fifth-year inquired.

“Being in a corner without any company?” Daichi raised an eyebrow, “You know we're not last year's team, right?” He asked, realizing that perhaps the black-haired boy in front of him continued to behave that way for fear of being rejected. “This is our team now, and you are part of it. Today you helped us get the victory as we help you score points. That's what makes a team, we help each other.”

Kageyama listened him attentively.

In no moment of the match he felt abandoned as well as out of place not only because Hinata and Tanaka had made plays with him as the trio of team chasers they were, but also because both Daichi and Yamamoto prevented bludgers from blocking him, and because the rest of the team players approach him once the game was over to congratulate him.

Victory belonged to everyone because together they had achieved it.

Maybe he really was part of a team.

“Kageyama!”

Hinata's shout made them both stop looking at each other after resting their attention on him after listening him.

“I told you that you wouldn’t get bored at this party!” He added.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Kageyama lost his seriousness as soon as he heard him.

“I just don’t want you to get bored!”

“Your presence bores me!”

“And your presence bores me too!”

“What did you say dumbass!?”

Daichi sighed, thinking that Kinoshita and Narita were his only salvation. 

* * *

Gryffindor won its first victory of the tournament not only because the fifth-years showed why they were chosen to play as well as put their skills into practice, because the sixth-years always had their spirits high, or because the seventh-years always found themselves thinking when to use the strategies they had planned. But also because the Slytherin team was a complete disaster and there was no one who could say otherwise, because even though Iwaizumi and Oikawa had once again proved to be a coordinated duo of chasers who also now had Kindaichi to increase their chances of approaching the hoops, the three had only been able to demonstrate their skills as the trio of Slytherin chasers when Kuroo managed to get the bludgers removed from the middle and therefore they weren’t hurt by them, since just as Futakuchi allowed the match to be a short one after Inuoka was able to catch the snitch in a faster way after not having to compete with him, and Yahaba, who was supposed to occupy the same position of beater as Kuroo, didn’t deflect a single bludger and therefore made the seventh-year take care of all by themselves, which also caused the trio of chasers to move slower not only because it was likely that a bludger intercepted their way, but also because in addition to the trio of chasers of the opposing team, they also had to dodge the duo of sixth-year of their team.

But the question was, did the captain regret the decisions he made?

He could have had Hanamaki, Matsukawa, or Osamu play instead of Yahaba and have another person from the reserve group change with Futakuchi so that the team that had faced Gryffindor would have been one worthy and not one that was extremely incomplete and lacking in communication as they had been. The duo of sixth year didn’t hesitate to make it clear in front of all the students that they didn’t plan to listen to him just because he was the captain of the team they belonged to, and that they weren’t interested in having lost a game while they could disobey him and follow their own thoughts.

And Kuroo was wondering what he did to make the sixth-year duo of his team prefer the defeat before him exercising the position of captain, since he never had problems with them before and didn't remember saying or doing something so that they were upset with him. He hated not understanding why he was rejected in that way when all he wanted was for his house to win the quidditch tournament being they the responsible for winning it, but a lost game was the only thing he had achieved besides allowing anxiety to appear no matter if he decided to find himself in that part of the common room of his house to try to calm down and fail in the attempt.

A strange atmosphere enveloped the Slytherin common room since they had lost the game and was stated that all the players who were part of the team didn't play with the same commitment, and although Kuroo continued to be distressed, he believed that he made a good decision at the time to want to stay alone in front of that part of the common room where, fortunately, the tension didn’t managed to arrive yet. The dungeons were close to the Black Lake, but unlike the other students who believed that they only had sight of it, those belonging to Slytherin knew it was a direct encounter with the lake what they really had.

They only had to go down some steps to finally be in front of a glass wall that allowed them to see part of the Black Lake as well as the creatures that inhabited it, some students having considered themselves fortunate to have even sighted some part of the giant squid that considered those dark waters its home. It was a mysterious sight that provided a sense of tranquility due to the lack of noise as well as anxiety because it wasn’t possible to see much beyond the dark colored water and some fishes that swam through the water in droves. The glass wall had been enchanted so that it couldn’t be broken under any circumstances no matter what was attempted to knock it down on one side or the other. It was a nice place to be when one wished to be left alone by the others belonging to Slytherin, which was what Kuroo wanted, that explaining why he was there sitting on the ground while watching the waters in front of him and having already seen some blue fish with celestial heads, waiting for the anguished sensation in his chest to leave as well as the expression of disappointment that he had sighted on his own face after having seen his reflection in the glass wall, through which he also saw a boy with grayish hair appearing at that moment.

Suga took place at his side after giving him a sidelong glance.

And Kuroo was grateful that he remained silent instead of talking to him because although he didn’t mind that one of his roommates approached him, the only thing he had heard since the game was over was that he would do better and that he had played in a good way and made the best possible effort, making his false smile from the beginning to have been disappearing as the day had gone by because he didn’t want people to dedicate words to him that they weren’t not sure of. He didn’t want to remain in the center of the common room so as not to feel that he was watched by everyone around him, wondering what he had done so that two of his same team rejected him in that way, beginning to invent rumors about the bad way he coordinated his players and the awful way in which he carried out the trainings.

He never hesitated to show himself because he loved being the center of attention as well as holding a smirk that he knew made others around him melt with his personality, but there were times when he needed to rest and allow his fake smile to disappear to become an expression without any kind of intentions behind. He liked being under the spotlight when he wanted to, not when others made the lights focus on him without his consent.

And what bothered him the most was that the person who knew when his smile was false as well as true as well as what kind of words to dedicate to improve his mood, didn’t even want to know about his existence. People had always seen his friendship with Kenma as the one in which the younger one completely rested in him being the one of the two to support both, but reality was that they had always rested in each other, and that although Kenma was the one who showed his emotions, he wasn’t exempt from the anxiety that sometimes decided to invade him.

One of the reasons why he agreed to be captain was also because he imagined Kenma being forced by him to tell him good luck before each match as well as to listen to the good and bad moments of the training, and all the bludgers he managed to hit in the games as well as the movements he made that although he explained them in the easiest way and together with gestures, Kenma wouldn’t understand because he was a seeker and not a beater like him.

But that only was a product of his imagination.

Because reality was the opposite.

The team he led didn’t accept him and the person he cared about the most didn’t allow him to continue caring for him, so he had no argument in favor to reject the oppression in his chest and the anxiety in his body.

"It doesn’t surprise me that everyone questions my decisions when I do too," Kuroo said suddenly after realizing that all the problems around him were because he decided to think too little or too much.

But despite his words, Suga allowed a smile to be outlined on his face.

“I don’t question your decisions,” He assured him seeing two grindylows swimming.

Kuroo looked at him before he realized the pathetic image he was radiating as if he decided to stay hidden from everyone because he didn’t want to be seen nor listen to the comments that he didn’t doubt had already begun to be scattered in the halls of the castle, not to mention that if in addition the gray-haired one was at his side then it was because he hadn’t been able to hide how frustrated he was.

“I know that you allowed Futakuchi and Yahaba to play despite not having attended most of the practices because you don’t want them to be angry with you, and you thought that not making them play would only give them another reason to increase their attitudes. As a captain it’s normal that you look for the approval of all the members that make up the team because acceptance is always what we are all looking for," Suga rested his eyes on him. “And I also believe that we all make certain decisions based on certain thoughts and that I don’t have the right to tell you if what you chose is wrong or not. Yes, we lost. Yes, you may regret some decisions. Can you change it? No. Can you concentrate on the next game so that something similar to today won’t happen again and therefore you won’t feel like this again? Yes.”

Kuroo observed the one who had just made it clear that he didn’t need to have exchanged words before to know what was going through his mind as well as the reason why he stayed away from everyone while he was in that part of the common room. But then he rested his gaze on the ground as well as hugged his knees with his arms because no matter how many words of encouragement he received, reality was only one. They lost.

“It doesn’t matter, now everyone knows I am a failure as a captain.”

“You're not the first captain whose debut ended up in defeat.”

“But I'm the first one whose players challenged in the match itself.”

Suga watched him without understanding how it was that a defeat managed to thrown his trusting character down so low, the same one that it even sometimes bothered him and ended up in both shouting as a joke while they were in a pillow fight to which Daishou usually ended up joining too. The boy next to him didn’t realize that he was elected as captain because the previous captain had named him as such but also because they had accepted him to guide them, and that he wasn’t a bad leader only because some in the team decided to act selfishly.

"Even your expression says worry, Suga," Kuroo added.

The black-haired boy looked up when Suga rested his hand on his knee.

"I'm worried about you," He said, looking at him. “My worry will disappear once you realize that a lost battle is not the end of a war, that a bad start doesn’t imply a terrible end, and that as long as I am on the team and be your friend, I won’t allow you to think that you are a bad captain or a bad person.”

Suga believed that the one with black hair was the right one to direct them and that it would be a matter of time for him to believe it too, because he knew that behind all that frustration at having lost the first match and not getting all the members to listen to him, soon it would be replaced by the determination and confidence that characterized him, so he gave him a sincere smile and decided to stay by his side while his eyes rested again on the waters behind the glass wall that he also used sometimes as an escape place. 

* * *

Oikawa thought that two days would be time enough to maintain patience hoping that the team's sixth-year duo whose actions could be recognized as the cause for which they had lost the opening match of the Quidditch tournament, would approach any of them to express that day they had risen with the left foot but that they were sorry for what they had done and that they would use the defeat that now constituted the base of the team, to promise to make an effort as well as to recover the lost time that they wasted after not showing up for the practices and still give themselves the luxury of accepting being chosen as titular players.

But Oikawa had been wrong and no apology had been uttered, making him realize that unless someone had cast a spell of silence on the sixth-year duo, then they didn’t plan to apologize or explain the behavior they had sustained during the game, so his patience reached its limit and his role as vice-captain decided to enter in scene, because just as he still had to talk with Kuroo, he also planned to talk to those two who unleashed more problems than they probably believed.

And he took his chance when he was fast enough to manage to corner Yahaba with his head in between his arms when he sighted him trying to leave the Slytherin common room, an action that he didn’t hesitate to interrupt without caring that students continued to enter and coming, nor that they looked at them out of the corner of their eyes before deciding to continue with their ways because the expression on Oikawa's face indicated that they shouldn’t put his tolerance to the test. And he raised an eyebrow when after being certainly impressed by the way he was stopped, Yahaba stopped looking at him surprised and chose to rest his eyes on the floor as well as cross his arms.

“My dear kouhai, I will only say this once so listen to me carefully.”

Yahaba remained tense as soon as he glimpsed his serious but menacing tone of voice.

“If you happen to be re-elected as one of the two starting beaters and you decide to act the way you did in the game, choosing to concentrate on whatever you have on with Kenji-chan that both decided to try to play in my same position instead of the two of you focusing on yours, to which there was the possibility that anyone in the team had been hit by a bludger because although Tetsu-chan is a great beater, he can’t do the work of two people on his own, achieving in that way that we had to move with caution instead of how we are used to, I won’t hesitate to unleash my anger with you. And you know why? Because if your way of playing causes Iwa-chan, Kindaichi, me, or anyone on the team to be hurt because you didn’t want to do your job as a beater, I'll never, ever forgive you.”

Oikawa stared at him and Yahaba didn’t hesitate to look up to see him in the same way. Both had had a great relationship since they had met because the older reflected himself in him and the younger one admired him, the two making communication between them never missing when someone had a problem or simply looking to talk about when they needed or wanted to, which only made the brown-haired boy continue to seriously observe the one who processed his words because he didn’t understand why he had allowed his actions to have cost them the victory. They had always communicated, resulting in that being the first time that Yahaba preferred to keep his words away instead of commenting on why he suddenly seemed not to want to be part of the team, making Oikawa realize that he had been right in thinking that his problem was not Kuroo's captaincy but something else, since they had affected the entire team with their actions although the black-haired one turned out to be the most affected only by the position he occupied.

"Promise me you're not doing this for him." He added.

They always talked about their problems and showed what they felt when something brought them to their heads, so Oikawa thought that maybe Yahaba decided to act that way because playing Quidditch again after last year’s tournament maybe brought him back memories he wanted to keep outside of his mind, but the expression of anger that appeared in Yahaba's face at that moment assured him that not only he was wrong, but that he probably shouldn’t have mentioned those words, since the sixth-year didn’t doubt to make one of his arms to move to be free of him.

"Not everything in my world revolves around him." He stated glaring at him.

Yahaba closed the doors of the common room so that everyone present turned to see why the slamming of the door had echoed all over the place, and although Oikawa could continue to try to find out why he acted that way, he also knew he shouldn’t follow him in case he wanted to earn his full wrath, which he knew could be as terrifying as his own.

And he only knew that he felt lucky when he didn’t run into him when he decided to leave the common room, to find himself in the Great Hall where he could breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t spot Yahaba at the table of the house they both belonged to although he had been searching for him minutes before, because even though he might regret the last words he said, he didn’t regret the first words he stated, since although he was annoyed at not being able to play as usual after having to be more careful with bludgers, his annoyance would really appear in case someone was hurt because of selfish decisions that lacked meaning.

And on that occasion, he hoped not to add mistaken words with the one in front of who he decided to sit because Yahaba wasn’t the only person he had to speak with. Because as he had mentioned to Kuroo, who at that moment observed him seriously when he realized that he had sat in front of him on purpose, his role as vice-captain of the team was to keep the team and the captain together, so he decided to give him a few days so he could think, hoping that the time given made him realize that he wasn’t the problem but other people on the team, but when he saw his serious face and his gaze certainly turned off, he knew Kuroo had failed to stop thinking about the game and therefore blame himself, so Oikawa stretched his hand over the table and observe Kuroo to take it, who despite looking at it with a grimace of confusion, finally decided to join his hand to his.

"We're used to thinking that it's all about us because we both love to draw the attention of others as well as attract the interest of anyone around us," Oikawa said, staring at him, “But that doesn’t mean that everything is really about us," He continued, deciding to keep talking when Kuroo observed him without understanding why he was saying those words. “If you were the problem, Kenji-chan would have crossed your path and Shigeru-chan diverted bludgers against you, but that is not what happened. Their actions affected us all, and the fact that they don’t pay attention to you doesn’t mean you are a bad captain, but that they don’t want to listen or allow you to advise them. And in case you think they have a problem with you, then I inform you that this problem is with everyone because we are a team and you are our captain, and the others do listen to you as well as we respect you, both for the position you occupy, as because you are our friend.”

Suga continued reading pretending to smile because the book was interesting instead of because he managed to hear those words after also having decided to have a snack at that time. And Kuroo observed his hand joined to the one with whom he had hoped sooner or later to cross words because without having expressed it in words, they had promised to trust each other blindly as well as to be for each other if necessary, and Oikawa had just shown him that he didn’t intend to be the one to break the pact they had formed, so he looked up at him, and for the first time since they had played the game, he allow a smile to appear on his face that was soon imitated in the face of the one sitting in front of him.

A pair of smiles that turned out to be the opposite of the expression that remained on Iwaizumi’s face who was in the hallway in front of the Great Hall, observing the way in which the two leaders of his team watched each other and smiled as well as held their hands together, knowing that it wasn’t right to frown or get upset because of his jealousy because he knew the only reason that Oikawa had talked with the black-haired one as well as being with him at that moment was because the two were coordinating the team and the communication between them had to be fundamental.

He was also aware that they needed Kuroo to stop being affected by the defeat so that he could coordinate them in the way he had been doing, since they wouldn’t have hesitated to continue playing under his instructions in case the sixth-year duo gave them the opportunity to play after having to watch that no bludger hit them. So if Oikawa's words and gestures were what he needed, then they should allow them to stay close.

But in any case he couldn’t avoid a trace of jealousy mingling with the anger he still felt for having lost to the house they considered rival.

“Iwaizumi-san, shall we go?” He listened.

Kindaichi looked at him while holding two brooms because they decided to use that afternoon to practice because a bad result wouldn’t stop them in their search for the consecration of Slytherin as champions of the quidditch tournament.

“Yeah.”

Iwaizumi stopped keeping his eyes fixed on those two between whom a conversation began to surface, and moved to approach the fifth-year boy who waited expectantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Yamaguchi is happy, and Ennoshita has fun.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the Camp Rock AU if you want to give it a try!

Yamaguchi continued to watch the boy sitting in front of him with a slight but honest smile. Both kept their knees bent, so that part of their bodies touched as did their arms, because while Yamaguchi rested his elbows on his knees and kept his hands together so that they were the support for his face, Tsukishima kept his arms embraced at his knees. The one with green hair didn’t take his eyes off of him although the taller of the two couldn’t realize it since he remained with his eyes closed. The two were aware that they were totally alone because the rest of the students were in the Great Hall or in their own common rooms, and it wasn't usual for someone to be in the castle gardens either because it was night or because of the winter weather that was rapidly approaching them. They were sitting on the grass, completely close and facing each other, totally alone and out of the possibility of someone interrupting or bothering them. Tsukishima had asked Yamaguchi to keep him company, and the second didn’t hesitate to follow him, because although it had become clear that both preferred another kind of relationship that meant more than a great friendship, it wasn’t normal for the blond to ask him for that type of favors. No one had spoken since they had left the interior of the castle, and they didn’t care as long as they could continue to be that way; Yamaguchi watching him, and Tsukishima enjoying his company.

The one belonging to Hufflepuff was happy that his relationship with the one sitting in front of him didn’t changed at all, since his main fear in expressing what he felt, was that their great friendship ended in a tragic distance due to unrequited feelings. And yet, in addition to the new and pleasant physical contact between them, nothing had changed between them, so Yamaguchi considered that ultimately it had been a sudden and good idea to confess to the blond what he felt. He couldn’t help wondering when Tsukishima had begun to feel the same way he did, or if his words had made the blond also dare to realize that a friendship wasn’t the only thing he felt. Yamaguchi had many questions, whose answers he still didn’t know not only because he didn’t formulated them out loud, but because he knew that Tsukishima wasn’t the kind of person to say with total ease what he felt.

Yamaguchi didn’t mind that the one he liked wasn’t the most sentimental person, since by not always expressing with words or actions what he felt, he took advantage of every occasion he did. Like that moment. His smile widened when the blond stretched out his index finger so he could intertwine it with his. Yamaguchi was happy with any minimal physical contact between the two, so he intertwine his finger with his. He learned that he didn't need the blond to tell him all the time how he felt when with different actions he made it clear how he felt.

“Are you cold?”

For the first time one of the two spoke after many minutes.

Although the grass under them didn’t have a greenish color, and the trees weren’t full of leaves or colorful flowers, and that any place in the castle was more pleasant to be found to avoid gusts of wind, Yamaguchi preferred to be there if he could be alone with him.

“Nop,” He answered.

“You want to go back?”

As Tsukishima continued with his eyes closed, he couldn’t see the small smile that appeared on the face of his companion, who let his expression declare that it was entertaining for him  to know that the other one worried about what he thought.

“I'm fine like this.”

They both met again in silence.

Yamaguchi knew it.

He could remain observing him forever without getting bored or tired of doing so.

He approached his free hand to the blond’s cheek, but he restrained himself to establish more contact between them because he knew the one sitting in front of him wasn’t one of those who always preferred to stay as close as possible, so he rested his elbow on his knee and his chin on the palm of his hand. “What are you thinking about?” He decided to ask him instead. Tsukishima had remained with closed eyes since both had taken place in that part of the castle gardens, so he assumed that the blond was concentrating on some particular thought.

“In you.”

Yamaguchi smiled even more, surprised.

“Why?”

“I'm glad you wanted to spend your birthday with me.”

After mentioning those words, Tsukishima finally chose to show his golden brown eyes and spot that in front of him holding a wide smile on his face.

“Who else would I want to spend it with? The last years I have always celebrated it with you.”

After they met when they were still in elementary school, it had meant that many celebrations happened with the presence and company of the other. That day the Hufflepuff didn’t doubt to stay close to the fifth-year throughout the day to remind him although he already knew, that it was his birthday, so he didn’t doubt to accompany Tsukishima out once he asked him, as he was barely able to be with him due to the constant presence of those who wore the same shield as him in their uniforms.

"Yes, but this time it's different," The blond said.

He turned his eyes to their intertwined fingers, and made their hands come together completely.

After that gesture, Yamaguchi encouraged himself to get even closer to him by not keeping his legs bent and therefore approaching after stretching them to the sides of the knees of that in front of him. He hugged Tsukishima's knees with his left hand still attached to his, and smiled once the blond didn’t seem upset by his change of position.

“Different good or different bad?” He asked.

Tsukishima took advantage of the approach between the two to join their foreheads.

“Good.”

And it was a matter of seconds for them to decide to join their mouths as they had become accustomed to do it since they mutually confessed what they felt. Yamaguchi felt his hand cease to be attached to the blond's but he became unconcerned when he felt those hands on his cheeks. Yamaguchi wanted to do the same but felt that Tsukishima would reject his touch, so he settled for letting his lips mate with his own after any distance between them was eliminated.

The blond contoured Yamaguchi's lips with his thumb, who smiled widely at that moment.

"Now I like it much more to celebrate my birthday," Yamaguchi didn’t doubt to say.

A small smile appeared on Tsukishima's face. "I'm glad to hear that," He said.

And both continued looking at each other while smiling.

Knowing that soon they would have to face each other on the quidditch field.

* * *

 

Ennoshita smiled widely when he saw his second chance.

He approached unconcerned as he sat enthusiastically in front of the Slytherin that glared at him as well as doubt his intentions as soon as he saw the gleaming smile on the face of the black-haired boy who every time that appeared, only managed to put him in a bad mood or give him sarcastic answers that he later decided to use against someone in his same house when he was bothered.

“What the hell do you want now?” Yahaba asked him.

“I didn’t know that you admired me so much as to try my same position in a game.”

Yahaba pressed the book hard in his hands. He was aware that most of the time, if not always, he was bothering other people along with Futakuchi, especially the Ravenclaw people because he hated that they turned out to be just as quick as them when it came to use sarcasm, and he also knew that those people who they annoyed were generally carried away by the strong character they both had as well as the reputations they had both created for themselves through their years at Hogwarts. And yet, Yahaba had understood that Ennoshita was different because he never run away from them as soon as he saw them in the same corridor or even in the same classroom, nor did he remain silent and he even chose to return his comments with the same grace and intensity. They detested each other to death but couldn’t deny that they were completely the same. They loved to bother each other.

"I'm not in the mood to stand you," The Slytherin said turning his eyes back to the book in his hands.

He had managed to stay distracted after sitting and reading under one of the trees in the interior gardens of the castle because he took advantage of the silence resulting from the fact that most students preferred to stay in the library or another place in the castle because the cold became present, until that one of his same year decided to interrupt him with his company to show him that not exactly everyone preferred to shelter from the cold weather. In addition, Yahaba's patience to know that everyone was watching him regardless of whether they were from his own house or not, had been exhausted, leading him to think that also staying in one of the interior gardens was a good idea because no one would bother to bundle up or to stay cold only to stay close to him and look at him in a fixed way to let him know that his actions during the first game of the Quidditch season were discussed in all the nooks and crannies of the castle.

“You’re never in the mood to put up with me,” Ennoshita allowed his robe to be the only thing that kept his back from being cold after having decided to lie down on the barely vivid lawn as he clasped his hands behind his head to show the boy by his side that he didn’t plan to leave only because he acted reluctantly since he had also been immune to his comments from the beginning.

Yahaba gave him a sidelong glance before deciding to continue reading without caring that the Ravenclaw stared at him in silence until he decided to speak again.

“Where’s Futakuchi? It's weird not seeing you two together," He added.

The one whose brownish hair was beginning to hold certain grayish locks because his color hair always changed when the season did, rolled his eyes annoyed after understanding that not everyone who belonged to the Ravenclaw house was characterized by preferring silence instead of talking.

“I don’t know.” Was the only thing he said with his eyes on the book even if he had stopped reading.

"Don’t you fear that he may be apologizing to Kuroo for his attitude?”

Ennoshita held a broad smile after getting the one sitting next to him to choose to close his book in a bad way to observe him with a frown along with an expression of irritation.

"Futakuchi would never do that." He answered confidently.

“And you? Would you do it?”

Yahaba's face became more and more serious.

“No.” He assured him.

Ennoshita only smiled for sure. “So you’re admitting that you should say sorry to him,” The Slytherin seemed to have killed him in his mind. “I should express my most sincere apologies. I made sure that the time we faced each other you would see me from the rostrum, but apparently your captain doesn’t seem willing to surrender with you even though you clearly surrendered with him before he was even called captain.” He continued.

“Don’t you know someone else you can bother, Ennoshita?”

“Futakuchi doesn’t seem to be close, so no, I don’t.”

"I hate you so much," Yahaba said staring at him.

“The feeling is mutual, although I'm still a good person to be willing to teach you how to be a chaser since you seem interested in changing position.”

“I rather stop playing Quidditch before accepting you teaching me something.”

“Well, if you think about it, it's not long before that happens. Between your disobedience and your effort to stop being a beater, it won’t be long before Kuroo finally gets tired of you and replaces you as well as Futakuchi. Although if I have to be honest, I wouldn’t like that to happen before our game against each other because I would like to see you failing before my very eyes. So at least try to be part of the team so you don’t have to see me from below instead of face to face on the field.”

He watched Yahaba's irritation grow with each word he chose carefully to express only to see the expression of anger that the Slytherin-member's face took, as well as the tension that invaded his body because he saw his hands clenching into fists on the cover of the book that he had been reading until before he decided to beautify his day with his presence, although he believed that Yahaba probably saw his company as the opposite. But he raised an eyebrow when he realized that his words surely weren’t the only thing he was thinking about because although Yahaba's gaze fell on him, he seemed to be immersed in another world of himself, until he saw him slow down his breathing until his hands were extended again as well as his focused gaze. And the one belonging to Ravenclaw kept looking at him while Yahaba put the book in his backpack as well as shook the remaining leaves off his tunic before standing and resting his eyes on him.

“I'll wait to see you fall from your broom when I direct a bludger towards you.” He declared.

The one belonging to Slytherin didn’t add another word before leaving while Ennoshita sat up to hold his palms on the cold lawn to balance himself by tilting his back slightly and continuing with his legs stretched out while he moved his feet amused. He achieved the opposite of what he had sought to do, but it still amused him to make the Slytherin member angry, which fortunately allowed his anger to appear when they were together, until suddenly his entertainment was interrupted when he felt that someone gave him a light kick on his lower back, and he threw his head back to find Tanaka watching him with a moderately serious expression as well as with his hands tucked in the pockets of his uniform, and decided to look back to the front so he wouldn’t have to see him at the same time his smile disappeared.

“Spying on me again?” He asked anyway.

And he remained motionless for a few seconds after realizing that the boy behind him didn’t know he had deduced that he had seen or heard him when he had been together with Kunimi near the doors of the Great Hall on the night of Tsukishima's birthday, and he was grateful that the one who decided to position himself before him was characterized as having a living spirit instead of an analytical mind.

"I don’t spy on you," Tanaka answered simply, “I only see how you make a fool of yourself," He added at the same time that Ennoshita lowered his gaze to the lawn.

He didn’t want to see him or be near him, much less he didn’t want to talk to him nor did he want to hold any kind of conversation. He never knew how to feel about him and he hated not being able to decide how to react when they were together. Sometimes he would glide to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall or watch the door when his laughter intermingled with those of Nishinoya and Yamamoto were heard from the hall indicating that they would soon arrive. But many times he wanted to be away from him and pretend that his anger, or rather frustration because he knew that his feelings weren’t reciprocal, were greater than the feelings he had for him. And although during the game of Gryffindor versus Slytherin he had glimpsed that Tanaka had several times rested his eyes on him and even seemed to look at him deliberately after every time he scored points for his house after making sure that the quaffle went through between any of the three hoops, at that time he didn’t feel like talking to him because he didn’t doubt that those looks would have meant that he was looking for Kiyoko since the two belonged to Ravenclaw and therefore she would be close after having also witnessed the match.

“Why do you bother him?” Tanaka asked.

It only took him close enough to realize that Ennoshita had approached one of those who, strangely enough, during the game had tried to chase him like any other person in a chaser's position would have done, instead of trying to direct bludgers at him as he was supposed to do after being one of the beaters and having held a bat in his hand during the whole game even if he didn’t used it, to see that with just his presence he managed to annoy Yahaba with great ease.

"I was bored," Ennoshita simply lied simply observing the color of his shoes until he looked away as the Gryffindor sat next to him with his torso toward him and his legs crossed as well as an animated smile on his face.

"That's because I'm sure you have no homework to do because you've already done all of it," He said between laughs.

“Which shouldn’t you be doing it now?” The Ravenclaw asked, smiling amused.

Tanaka made a gesture with his hand to downplay his words. "I prefer to take off your boredom," He stated.

“Really? And how would you achieve that?” Ennoshita used his sarcastic tone of voice but without malice.

"I can give you tips on how to win games," Tanaka said before adjusting his scarlet gold tie after pretending to be ready to give him an informative talk on the subject he mentioned.

The one belonging to Gryffindor smiled expectantly and Ennoshita shook his head.

"That would only increase my boredom," He said, and laughed when Tanaka complained.

“You know I'll be cheering for Ravenclaw when you play.”

Ennoshita smiled when he heard him until it became a fake gesture because it was enough to think in his words to realize that he had only manifested the same because Kiyoko was also part of his own house, so he decided to rest his eyes on his shoes making Tanaka wonder how he changed his attitude so often towards him. 

* * *

Although the previous day Ennoshita had fun being the one who sought to generate problems after having decided to approach Yahaba, although he achieved the opposite of what he had planned but couldn’t deny that he managed to irritate the Slytherin, there was no foreseen that that day the problems would be those in looking for him and finding him.

“How the hell did this happen?” He asked completely confused and feeling he was starting to mimic Yahaba’s vocabulary.

He looked at the disastrous and senseless situation he had encountered as he walked down the aisle at the same time that Iwaizumi stretched his arms to protect Oikawa, who was behind him letting out cries of horror as well as ordering his best friend not to ceased to be his human shield under any circumstance because Kageyama seemed determined to go over the black-haired one in order to establish some kind of contact with Oikawa, while next to them Bokuto was totally immobile in place and held the larger smile that Ennoshita had ever visualized in his face, even more enthusiastic than the one he had visualized when the previous year Hufflepuff had won the Quidditch tournament, as well as a special glow in his eyes, although the Ravenclaw understood from immediately why he seemed so happy when he saw that the reason for his joy and ability to stay still instead of jumping or moving as he usually used to do, was because Akaashi was hugging him without seeming to want to detach himself from him.

Ennoshita received his letter to attend classes at Hogwarts, was sorted in Ravenclaw as well as chosen to belong to the Quidditch team, understood that Kenma was also part of it, and remembered the first time he saw Akaashi smile. But he never resulted to be as surprised as in that moment after seeing that scene.

"Long story short," Iwaizumi kept his brow furrowed as he waited for his eardrums not to be broken by the screams that Oikawa let out of his mouth because he wasn’t willing to let Kageyama approach him, “Amortentia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Too many emotions even for Bokuto.


	28. Chapter 28

“Bokuto, I warn you.”

The aforementioned boy's hair seemed to deflate as well as his disappointed sight rested on the ground after hearing his best friend’s words.

“Why not?” He asked along with a grieved pout.

“If you were under the Amortentia’s effects and you liked Akas-"

"I don’t need Amortentia to like Akaashi," Bokuto interrupted him.

Kuroo hit himself on the forehead before letting out a sigh trying not to lose completely the patience with which he wasn’t carrying lately. "Anyway, if the situation was different, you wouldn’t like Akaashi to take advantage of you, would you?”

"I think... I think I wouldn’t mind," Bokuto replied with a shrug, “I mean, I doubt... I doubt anyone would be bothered by... that.”

The Slytherin rubbed his forehead when he realized that he wouldn’t find any way out with his best friend unless he was totally direct with him, because as he knew that he could be the most attentive person when he wanted to, as Bokuto had shown after talking to him after the game against Gryffindor happened, he also knew that other times he allowed his clumsiness to go beyond his limits.

“Bokuto, don’t do anything that implies that Akaashi won’t want to see you later.” He determined being completely serious, because just as he didn’t doubt to laugh when the two were in the mood to make jokes, he didn’t hesitate to hold a hard expression when he thought that his best friend was about to make a mistake or needed someone to slow him down. “It doesn’t matter if he wants to hug you now, be with you, whatever. Don’t take advantage of the effects of the potion, and just treat him as usual. Okay? Otherwise I will personally make sure that you never see him again.”

Bokuto frowned when he heard him.

“You could never stop me from seeing him!” He exclaimed grumbling.

“Then don't make me want to do it.”

“Then what do I do?”

His best friend preferred to think about the answer before speaking because he had to be careful on choosing words if he didn’t want his best friend to later regret something even though he didn’t believe Bokuto could harm Akaashi in any way.

“Act like if you were Akaashi,” He answered. The amber-eyed boy tilted his head completely confused. "Try to stay serious," Kuroo added, “And don’t do anything.”

Bokuto remained focused on his own thoughts before letting a cheerful smile appear on his face and then decide to raise both thumbs indicating that he had understood his words, but anyway Kuroo again hit himself on the forehead with his own hand because he knew that the boy in front of him had probably misinterpreted his words and would do something instead of behaving.

“Tomorrow I’ll look for you in the first hour to hope that you haven’t done anything.”

The one with bicolor hair greeted him enthusiastically with a big smile on his face before Kuroo closed one of the doors that kept the Slytherin common room separate from the hallway, and once his best friend disappeared, Bokuto turned around.

Akaashi was waiting for him sitting with his back against the wall and his knees bent as he held his arms to them and drummed his fingers on them, and looked at the ground in complete silence as he contemplated his absolute existence. He had his blue pajamas on and he had waited in that position and without saying anything while the seventh-year had warned him that first they had to make a stop in the Slytherin common room so he could talk with his best friend.

Bokuto smiled broadly at the sight of him.

He considered himself totally lucky to have been at the right moment when the sixth-year was affected by the pink potion since he had attended the fifth-year's class potions to help them after being one of the best students with notes in that matter, but who after having been in charge of Kageyama and Hinata while the teacher corrected the others present in the class, the first of them mixed more ingredients than necessary in the cauldron, so when it exploded, the two that had blue eyes and black hair were those in suffering the effects of the potion after being the closest to it. Bokuto had been in the hall chatting with Oikawa about what happened in the game in which the second had played when suddenly the sixth and fifth-year opened the door of the classroom after waiting to find the air they had lost with the pinkish smoke of the potion, only to suddenly begin to feel an unexpectedly obsession as well as an obvious liking for the first person they saw in front of them.

Bokuto knew that he would always keep in his mind the moment when after blinking several times and seem to be a little disoriented, Akaashi rested his gaze on him before approaching to surround him with his arms, and although Ennoshita had made them both separate after appearing, he had had enough time to allow himself to smile widely because of the fact that the sixth-year had embraced him.

He didn’t saw Akaashi after Ennoshita took him along with Kageyama and to Iwaizumi's fortune who still had to continue to endure Oikawa's cries anyway, but then he found him once the dinner ended in the Great Hall and his happiness continued to increase as he realized that the sixth-year was still under the consequences of the potion although they had given him the antidote because the effect took a few hours to disappear completely, and therefore, he remained obsessed with him. And in case he had any doubt, that disappeared when instead of refusing, Akaashi agreed to spend the night with him once Bokuto proposed such a plan after realizing that the sixth-year wouldn’t move in front of him, although he chose to talk to his friend beforehand because it was never a bad idea to talk with Kuroo.

And by thetime he had already done what he promised, so he approached Akaashi and held out his arms to let his hands join in helping him up, opting innocently to keep one of his hands joined to his as they walked through the corridors to go towards the Hufflepuff common room.

They remained silent until the older of the two removed his wand from the trousers of his blue pajamas with drawings of little owls, since unlike Slytherin and Gryffindor, whose common rooms were accessed by means of the pronunciation of a password, and unlike the Ravenclaw students, who had to answer a riddle so that the entrance was allowed, all students of Hufflepuff had to strike with the wand the indicated barrel in front of them on the wall so that the passage to the room would appear. Bokuto had been confused enough times to touch another barrel with his wand and therefore been severely bathed in vinegar to have learned that the barrel which lid his wand had just touched was the right one. Since, in addition, the cover of same one opened to reveal the passage by which he always walked, although unlike all the previous times, at that moment he was accompanied by a student who didn’t belong to the same house that him.

Akaashi looked around as soon as he found himself in the Hufflepuff common room.

The large basement had ocher-colored walls, yellow armchairs of different sizes and wooden tables where the students could sit down to study or pass the time, although being at night only the two of them were there. Most of the floor was under yellow carpets with gold patterns, and the sixth-year could swear he saw move to any of the green plants that were scattered in the place, but couldn’t check or look at more details because Bokuto pulled him gently and reached for a wooden door that led to the bedrooms.

The seventh-year wanted to take advantage of the absence of people in the living room to chat with Akaashi without anyone interrupting, but he couldn’t not only because the black-haired one certainly belonged to another house and crossing a prefect wouldn’t result in a situation with good outcome, but also because it was late and the next day they had to get up early, because even though he didn’t care, he knew that Akaashi was a responsible person and therefore would like to arrive on time to all of his classes, so contrary to what he wanted, and allowing Kuroo's words to enter his mind, he went to his room with Akaashi still holding his hand.

And although he didn’t want to do anything but scream about the joy that ran through his body and that mostly came from his hand, he took his index finger of his free hand to his mouth to tell Akaashi to be quiet as the rest of his roommates were asleep, although it was more likely that he would let out a scream of emotion or a complaint for hitting a piece of furniture because he couldn’t see anything in the darkness, than to hear the black-haired one say something. He left the door of the room half open so that the light from the corridor entered the room and he could point out to Akaashi the only free bed of the four it had, and finally his hands parted when the sixth-year went there before Bokuto closed the door.

Asahi, Konoha, and Komi, continued to sleep peacefully.

Bokuto managed to stop himself from letting out a scream of pain when his foot hit his own bed and sat down while Akaashi sat on the edge of it thanking that everything was dark so that the older one didn’t see the little smile that he managed to get out of him because of his clumsiness, but he was serious again knowing that he couldn’t afford to take a wrong step because he was aware of what it was that had led him to be there, and that he could also take advantage of the situation In which he was and the state that guided him, so he chose to stop sitting to lie down and put his two hands under his cheek and his head as if they were his pillow even if he had one because Bokuto didn’t hesitate to run his some centimeters so that the one with black hair could rest his head, and the Hufflepuff smiled before he also lie down after Akaashi did, managing to remain comfortable without problem even though his body was bigger.

None of the parts of their bodies were touching because although Bokuto wanted to do the opposite and prevent any space from keeping them connected, he made sure that Akaashi didn’t feel uncomfortable after doing his best to stay as close to the edge of his bed as possible so that the other didn’t feel overwhelmed, without realizing that in reality the space that separated them was minimal not only because they weren’t in a very large bed, but also because the black-haired one wasn’t completely stuck to the edge of his side. They could feel their respective breaths and Bokuto decided to stand on his back with his hands clasped on his stomach to try to get the words of his best friend to remain in his mind.

"Akaashi," He whispered.

Neither of them had spoken since they had entered the room and then remain in the dark, so he didn’t know if the one lying next to him was already asleep or was still awake like him, but hear him mutter told him that the two were still without sleeping.

“In contrast to your bedroom that is in a tower, Hufflepuff is underground so here it doesn’t matter if it rains hard, or there is a lot of sun because we can’t realize it except for the small windows that there are, so you can come to sleep whenever you want if you don’t like the sound of thunder or the lightnings, I know you don’t like storms," He said softly, turning his head so he didn’t feel like he was having a conversation with the ceiling of his room. “Or you can come to study to take advantage of the silence, I don’t study and I don’t doubt you can study although there is noise around you because you’re really smart, but you can come anyway if you want.”

The voice of the sixth-year was heard after a few seconds of silence.

“Thanks.” He whispered.

Bokuto made a pout with his lips when he realized that the fact that Akaashi was still under the effects of the potion didn’t necessarily imply that he wanted to talk, but he stopped making a mock with his face when he felt movement near him and suddenly an arm wrapped around his stomach as something heavy rested on his chest, though he remained tense because he didn’t expect for Akaashi to choose to establish physical contact between them as well as to erase any boundary that they would silently have designated over the space in the bed, but he outlined a great smile as well as relaxed and felt more than awake than ever when he left one of his hands resting on the arm of the sixth-year as he passed an arm over his shoulders and behind his neck in case he thought of separating from him.

But he soon found himself tense for the second time after remembering that his best friend had warned him not to do anything just because Akaashi acted differently after being under the effects of the potion, until he also remembered that Kuroo mentioned to act like the black-haired one that at the time had acted affectionately with him, so Bokuto deduced that then he could too, choosing to draw imaginary lines on Akaashi's back while allowing strands of his hair to tickle his chin.

"It's also said that my house common room is the most comfortable of all, so if you don’t want to be in yours you can come to mine too," He added whispering.

Staying even closer to him was Akaashi’s way of answering instead of talking.

Bokuto knew that probably his face would hurt from so much smile but that didn’t prevent a smile increasingly wide to settle on his face. His happiness was at the top but he couldn’t do anything because the others were in the room and wouldn’t hesitate to hit him in case he started to exclaim how happy he was and how much he wanted to move to release all the energy that had monopolized his body, as they did every time he couldn’t sleep and began to bother them, so hs only option turned out to keep smiling. Although ironically and as happy as he was, he didn’t want to change his position or stop lying on his bed while Akaashi was by his side hugging him and with his head resting on his chest. He thought it was obvious since he showed it all the time and didn’t doubt to mention it on every occasion he had, but he was really happy to finally be able to hold him and that the other didn’t remain totally tense and rigid when he did, considering that being embraced in the same way was much better than just being the one to hug.

“Akaashi?”

Unlike the previous times, he didn’t receive any kind of response, so he assumed that the sixth-year next to him had already fallen asleep on his chest and embraced to him.

"I'm glad you're here," He muttered, even if the other boy wasn’t listening.

He took the opportunity to stick closer to him and preferred to stay awake a few more minutes to enjoy his company no mattering if it  was due to the effects of a potion.

* * *

 

The next day Bokuto was walking towards the Great Hall as he stretched his arms and continued to be confused, because when he got up he didn’t saw the boy with black hair and blue eyes who had hugged him and slept by his side the night before, and unconsciously he brought one of his hands to his chest as he remembered the warm feeling that Akaashi's head on that part of his body had produced, making him form a morning awkward smile, although the same one soon became a pout after remembering not having noticed or heard when Akaashi had stopped lying down next to him and therefore left the room in the morning, since he hoped that he didn’t returned to his room during the night in case the effects of the potion disappeared while the moon had been found in the sky.

He let out a yawn and thought about heading towards the Slytherin table as soon as he entered the Great Hall, but a fifth-year Gryffindor student who crossed his path that seemed to have caught his yawn interrupted his own step.

“Kageyama!” Bokuto allowed a smile to appear on his face at the same time that the younger one observed him still asleep, “Oikawa isn’t here," He added when he realized the boy with brown hair wasn’t at the table where his best friend was present.

The one with black hair raised both eyebrows. "I know," Kageyama replied, “The effects of the potion disappeared yesterday,“ He added in order to explain why he wasn’t obsessed with Oikawa’s presence anymore.

Bokuto tilted his head looking at him confused, thinking it would have been more reasonable than the Gryffindor had at least stayed until the night along with Oikawa after the potion affect everyone in the same way

"That's weird," The Hufflepuff said, bringing his fingers to his chin, “Why would the antidote work faster on you than on Akaashi?”

Kageyama raised an eyebrow at the sound of it.

"The effects disappeared as soon as they gave us the antidote," He explained him. 

“Are you sure?”

“Usually I don’t remember anything of what I see and hear in class, but considering that it was a traumatic experience that I went through, yes, I’m sure.“ Kageyama stated with his eyes showing that he really believed in his words and that he had never felt before as fortunate as when he had been told that the antidote to the potion that had mistakenly blinded him from obsession acted immediately.

The one with black hair was called by some people who were sitting at the table of the house to which he belonged, and deciding not to continue trampling himself with the fact that temporarily he had found himself obsessed with the person who caused him the most terror, he threw a glance at Bokuto before heading to his table, only to notice that his amber eyes had opened completely.

Antidote with immediate effect.

Yesterday afternoon.

Akaashi.

Last night.

He remained completely open-mouthed and more than astonished as he also let the surprise run through his body, and a huge smile appeared on his face as he realized what those words expressed by the one who had also felt the effects of the potion for, apparently, only a couple of hours, had said. Bokuto brought his hands to his own cheeks and realized that the one who had spent the night sleeping on his chest and beside him hadn't done so because he was blinded by a potion or because of a sudden obsession caused by external factors, but because he had really wanted to.

“HOOT!”

Even Kageyama, who finally took place at his table, turned his head after hearing that cry of emotion that came from the person with whom he had crossed words until a few minutes ago, but everyone returned to focus on their respective plates of food after seeing that the one belonging to Hufflepuff, who was known for always attracting the attention of others, was the one who had shouted before quickly running to the Slytherin table only to get Kuroo immediately awakened as well as having his coffee overturned when he began to be shaken by the shoulders.

Meanwhile at the Gryffindor table, Kageyama heard Yaku speak to him.

“Kageyama, how are you feeling?” He asked him.

"I'm fine Yaku-san, thank you," He answered when he saw the seventh-year of his house.

The vice-captain of the team gave him a smile before talking to Daichi again.

Although Ennoshita had been in charge of separating Akaashi from Bokuto and Kageyama, on stopping him trying to embrace Oikawa and therefore took them both inside the class so that the teacher could give them the corresponding antidote, the two seventh-years that were part of his same team learned what had happened as the others because the brown-haired Slytherin didn’t hesitate to make the fact a scandal, so they had paid him more attention than usual after waiting for the potion effects to not appear again.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow after hearing Hinata's laugh. The orange-haired one was sitting in front of him.

“What the heck are you laughing at?” He asked totally seriously.

Hinata smiled broadly. "I'm glad to see you're as always," He replied simply.

Kageyama narrowed his eyes while the orange-haired one continued to smile as he chose to start serving his breakfast while strangely Kageyama didn’t feel hungry knowing that it was due to the fact of being aware that he had made a fool of himself thanks to the effects of the potion, though Ennoshita would have saved him from continuing to act in a way totally alien to him, but he stopped being focused on the matter when Hinata left a plate full of food in front of him before beginning to serve food on another for himself, and Kageyama interposed his gaze between him and the dish he had made before he decided to have breakfast after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Reciprocal feelings are never easy.


	29. Chapter 29

“You sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” Suga asked.

Kuroo thanked him for the gesture with a smile before shaking his head.

The gray-haired one also smiled although he got a denial in response, but remained totally serious once he found himself on the stairs that connected the common room with the bedrooms, because he didn’t think it was a good idea to stay when his presence wasn’t required, as well as to leave Kuroo alone with his thoughts.

The one who remained in the common room, observed the remains of food as well as the decorations that remained in front of him on the table. His friends had insisted on wishing him a good birthday as well as preparing a surprise party that had ended a few minutes ago and had been coordinated and organized by Oikawa and Sugawara, because if he had left the command only to the first of them, everyone at Hogwarts would have known that that day was Kuroo’s birthday. They had a good time and even managed to get the birthday boy distracted, but that didn’t mean he had a good birthday.

And Suga hadn’t wanted to leave him alone because he was aware of that.

Kuroo raised his legs to the sofa to hug his knees.

His housemates and teammates weren’t the only ones who had spent the day with him since Bokuto, Terushima, and Lev, and especially the first one, chased him throughout the day to make sure to stun him with their voices and surround him with their arms as well as Daichi and Yaku congratulated him. His friends spent the day with him, made it clear that he wasn’t alone and that he had people to talk to, so he let out a sigh when he knew that despite having all those people in his life, he couldn’t assure that he wasn’t alone, because he didn’t consider he could agree to say he was happy when he still waited for a particular person to appear that day, even though it were only a few hours left before it ended because the party was held after dinner.

Because although he could tolerate that Kenma had completely changed the course of the relationship between them, that he fled from him every time he saw him and barely spoke to him, he couldn’t bear he didn’t appear when he had always been the one to pass all his previous birthdays with him.

Again he sighed, and as he did every time he began to feel confined by his own thoughts and not even the view of the Black Lake would help him, he chose to leave the common room to take a walk by himself, although the curfew time was close because he knew that Suga wouldn’t mind allowing him to arrive a few minutes late, but that idea left his head as soon as he glimpsed the scene in front of him.

Kenma was cornered against the wall while Futakuchi kept one of his arms stretched upwards seeming to hold something the Ravenclaw really seemed to want to recover by the way his eyes were fixed on said object, while Yahaba stayed with them with crossed arms.

“Why should I return it to you?” Futakuchi asked, “They shouldn’t even allow you to have it at Hogwarts.”

"Because it's mine," Said the shortest of the three.

Kenma wasn’t a fan of socializing, much less liked to hold confrontations with people around him, but he didn’t run when someone decided to mess with him. In addition, he had always been accompanied by a person who had always been willing to do whatever was necessary to defend him no matter what situation they were in, and although his relationship with that person was no longer the same as always, it was clear to him that such thing didn’t changed.

The sadness was replaced with annoyance as Kuroo approached them with a totally serious face and an expression of few friends that he usually maintained when his patience had really run out and someone had managed to make him angry, which at that moment caused Yahaba to uncrossed his arms, and Futakuchi frowned when he felt someone take the object from his hand.

“You should be in your room. It's already late." Kuroo stated.

Futakuchi crossed his arms.

“Why would we listen to you?”

"Because my best friend is a prefect, and unless you want me to call him, you'll go back to the common room." He answered without changing his serious expression.

He knew the duo of his same house didn’t listen to him, but he also knew they feared Suga and the severe expression he had when someone dare to mess up with his position of prefect, so he wasn’t surprise when Yahaba took his best friend by the arm to drag him along with him to the Slytherin common room, although he wouldn’t have seemed willing to listen to him without caring about the threat with the presence of Suga, so soon the captain of their team stayed alone with the one who fixed his gaze on the ground.

Kuroo looked with curiosity at the rectangular black box that had several buttons, having no idea what it was before he reached it out to Kenma. “I think this is yours,” He said.

Kenma only raised his gaze to pose it on his electronic device, and swallowed heavily before he could speak because he was still recovering from the fact that his path had been intercepted, and that he was suddenly alone with him although he had mentally prepared for the second fact.

“Thank you.”

A sudden chill ran through his body when, like in his birthday, his fingers brushed with those of the Slytherin, not knowing if he had done it on purpose or not taking advantage of the fact that he hadn’t avoided that little intimate contact between the two of them. And he was angry with himself when he realized that he was looking forward to those moments when a minimum touch returned to unite them even for a few seconds, while Kuroo watched him carefully after realizing that he seemed to be debating a struggle with himself, since although Kenma's face hardly changed and he always developed in the same way, over the years Kuroo had learned to study his emotions as well as read his body language, and for the same reason he knew that Kenma was always totally tense when he was with him, making him detest the fact of knowing that his presence put him that way.

“Why are you here? It's already late," He asked.

He really couldn’t care less if it was too late, he just wanted to have something to talk about with him to take advantage of every opportunity when Kenma didn’t run away from so he could sustain even two words with him. He really missed spending the whole day talking to him about anything while he listened to him, so he took the chance in his hands when the Ravenclaw didn’t seem obsessed with getting away from him as fast as his legs would allow him.

"I... I..." Kenma tried to articulate while his gaze still remained fixed on the electronic device that was in his hands. He couldn’t bring himself to run like all the previous times. He didn’t left his bed to fail miserably in what he had proposed moments ago. Kuroo didn’t stop observing him, not because he expected a quick response, but because he also took advantage of those moments to look at him carefully. “I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”

The Slytherin's expression changed completely as soon as he heard him.

“You didn’t forget it?” He asked surprised.

He had come to think that the Ravenclaw, who knew him since they were little, had forgotten that little detail after not crossing him all day after also erase their friendship completely and therefore occupy his head with more interesting details that the day of his birthday.

“How could I?”

Kuroo smiled at the words spoken as well as because he glimpsed that Kenma had regretted mentioning them after frowning and forming a small pout of disgust with his lips, indicating that he hadn’t planned to allow those three words to leave his mouth.

“I... I wanted to return this to you.”

Kuroo's smile was replaced by a grimace of confusion when Kenma put the electronic device in one of the pockets of his tunic to take out his wand and make the photo he had given him appear in his hands after making a slight movement with his wand. The one belonging to Slytherin crossed his arms to indicate that he wouldn’t accept the gift as soon as Kenma stretched out his arms to give it to him.

“I don’t want it. I gave it to you, I won’t accept it back." He stated.

“But we both want the photo. And you won it fairly.”

“And I decided to give it to you. Keep it. I won’t accept it.”

After letting a few seconds pass and therefore realizing that Kuroo wouldn’t change his mind, Kenma again made the photo disappear.

“But then I don’t have a gift.”

“You have already given me one.”

Kuroo smiled amused when Kenma understood his not so indirect words and allowed a slight but noticeable blush to be on his cheeks after he realized that his presence was equal to a gift for the older of the two.

“I... I... I have to go.”

Kenma quickly started walking down the aisle without letting the conversation between the two to continue. He hid his face in his hands, hating not being able to control the way his body reacted when he was with Kuroo, which explained why he always wanted to stay away from him. While the one belonging to Slytherin didn’t stop him at that time after being happy enough to know that Kenma hadn’t forgotten him, and because although his actions were obvious, his feelings clearly contradicted every time he walked away from him. 

* * *

Ennoshita left his bed so quickly that he didn’t allow Akaashi to stop lying on his bed as soon as he saw that he had intended to move to get up. He was always slow to get up because he believed that stretching all the parts of his body was important and even sometimes Kenma changed faster than him, so Akaashi remained completely confused when suddenly Ennoshita left his own bed to sit on his lap leaving his knees at the sides of his waist, and imprison his wrists with his hands.

"I honestly have no idea what is happening," Akaashi said.

Ennoshita simply smiled proudly.

"I know you were about to get up to go with him."

Akaashi didn’t allow the nervousness he had begun to feel to be noticeable on his face.

“What are you talking about?” He asked although they both already knew the answer.

Ennoshita smiled even more.

"It's the fourth night you won’t sleep here," He replied.

They both watched each other in silence for a few seconds. Akaashi didn’t contradict his friend because he was right, since from the afternoon when he had accidentally been close to the Amortentia posioon, and later spent the night in the Hufflepuff dormitories, he had continued with the second action instead of sleeping in his own bed with his two roommates.

"I'm surprised," Ennoshita added.

“Why?”

“Bokuto doesn’t realize that you aren’t under the effects of the potion.”

For Ennoshita it wasn’t only obvious that his best friend wasn’t under the effects of the Amortentia potion, not because Akaashi didn’t glimpse the consequences of the incorporation of the potion, but because he himself had been present when the professor had given him the antidote both him and Kageyama. He ignored the fact that his best friend didn’t spend the first night in his room after thinking that perhaps the effects could continue to affect him even though he had drunk the antidote, but he had stopped believing in that when for a second and third time, Akaashi didn’t sleep in their room. And he took advantage of that fourth occasion to make it clear that he knew what he was up to.

Kenma wasn’t there because he had told them that he needed to go around the castle before falling asleep, and since some conversations happened to be held between them each time Kenma wasn’t present, he had used that moment to imprison Akaashi before for the fourth time his absence would become visible at night.

Akaashi held his gaze when he heard him.

“You like him, don’t you?”

For the first time since his roommate had placed himself on top of him, Akaashi broke the intense exchange of glances between them to divert his gaze to the window and then to the stuffed owl that remained on his bedside table.

“You are using Amortentia as an excuse, am I right?” Ennoshita added when he didn’t hear an answer to his previous question.

Akaashi knew that his best friend was only telling the truth.

It had turned in his favor that Bokuto had been the victim of the effects of the Amortentia on him as well as that the two-color-haired one wasn’t meticulous or intelligent enough to realize that he had actually taken the antidote, and that therefore, he spent his nights with him not because a potion blinded him to do so, but because he really liked to sleep at his side, with his head on his chest and his big arms hugging nobody but him.

He bit the inside of his lower lip, and rested his eyes on Ennoshita.

"Yes, I like him." He said, confessing how he felt. He remained surprised after hearing those words being spoken aloud while his friend smiled when he heard the answer to his first question. “Why are you so happy?” Akaashi asked, noticing his smile.

Ennoshita stopped imprisoning his wrists, and held his arms to the sides of his own body before looking down for a few seconds and holding a small smile.

"Because I'm glad that at least one of us has reciprocal feelings," He answered.

Akaashi raised the upper part of his body to rest the weight of it on his elbows sunk into the mattress. While he had just confessed his feelings to his best friend, Ennoshita had already done a long ago. 

“Are you still thinking about Tanaka?” He asked him.

“Of course,” Ennoshita didn’t even try to deny it.

Akaashi watched him for a few seconds in silence before speaking.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Ennoshita smiled when he realized that his best friend was ready to stay with him instead of spending the night with the boy he liked so, as to make sure he didn't abandon him so he could be alone with his thoughts, but he shook his head without hesitation because he didn’t want to drag Akaashi to his own problems, so he moved to stop being on top of him and got up. His roommate was finally able to leave his bed and approached the door, but turned his head before resting his hand on the doorknob.

Ennoshita had said that at least for one of them, his feelings were reciprocated, but Akaashi didn't believe the same.

"At least you don’t have to hide under a potion to know what you feel." Akaashi said before finally opening the door and leaving.

Ennoshita rested his gaze where his best friend had been until a few seconds ago, and let out a sigh before heading to his own bed and letting himself fall on his stomach, although he took his head off the mattress when he heard the door of the room being opened after a few minutes. He watched Kenma enter and throw himself in the same way in his bed, seeming to be totally exhausted.

Ennoshita let out a laugh that drowned in his mattress.

His roommates were so complicated.

And so was he.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Someone loses patience in the quidditch field.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter.
> 
> The teams:  
> Ravenclaw:  
> Keeper: Kunimi   
> Beaters: Tsukishima, Suna  
> Chasers: Sakusa, Ennoshita, Akaashi  
> Seeker: Kenma
> 
> Hufflepuff:  
> Keeper: Watari  
> Beaters: Konoha, Yamaguchi   
> Chasers: Lev, Bokuto, Asahi   
> Seeker: Terushima

A glow of enthusiasm decorated Bokuto's amber eyes. His eyes illuminated by the clear sky of that day and the huge sun in the center of it, highlighted the golden color of his eyes even more. He couldn’t help but feel more than energetic as it was his first game as captain of his house team, and as more emotion was added to the matter, Ravenclaw was the opponent, so he would compete head-to-head with Akaashi, who turned out to be the leader of the opposing house team.

But the Hufflepuff team captain wasn’t the only one excited.

Again, and for the second time, the Quidditch field had become the epicenter of the presence of all the students and teachers of Hogwarts to witness the second game of the Quidditch season, on that occasion starring Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, whose players were already flying and dispersing while the other students in the stands watched them with attention and emotion. Hufflepuff was characterized as the champion consecrated last year after managing to keep the championship cup, and Ravenclaw was considered a new beginning after not having any seventh-year student among its players. The two teams were completely different, and just as the encounters between Gryffindor and Slytherin were expected, the competition between the houses characterized by yellow and blue was hailed and eagerly awaited.

And while the captain of Hufflepuff kept holding a huge smile on his face, the captain of Ravenclaw kept a serious expression that managed to confuse more than one on the rostrum. No emotion. No nervousness. It was impossible to decipher what was going on inside the head of the one who had been chosen that year to command his own team. It was impossible to tell if he was nervous because he was the only team captain to be a sixth-year, if he was uneasy because his first match was against the house that had previously won the tournament cup, or if he was excited to lead his team and to put in evidence the strategies that they had carried out and practiced during the trainings since the second week of classes.

The vice captains of the team were also completely different. Since while Konoha could be considered a leader with the same task as the captain after himself being the team's balance, Ennoshita chose to respect Akaashi's decisions, although he would never hesitate to speak to him in case his words didn’t turn out to be strategic enough. It was easy for them to agree, not only because they were both sixth-years, but also because they were best friends both inside and outside the Quidditch stadium, as well as Bokuto and Konoha too. Both vice captains constituted the bridge between the captain and the rest of the team, reason why they could be considered like the balance necessary so that the group didn't disintegrate nor had misunderstandings.

Both vice captains approached their respective captains.

“Sleeping with the enemy. Not a bad strategy, I must confess.”

Akaashi watched Ennoshita as soon as he heard his words.

“Who would think that you would be that kind of captain? Waiting for the rival to fall asleep and therefore be in his weakest moment, to manage to study all his instabilities and thus achieve victory after being able to defeat him through his own fault." He added, appearing to be the worst villain in history.

"Sometimes I wonder why I'm your friend," Was all Akaashi said.

The fact that their houses met that morning in the Quidditch stadium didn’t prevent the captain of Ravenclaw from spending the night with the captain of Hufflepuff, having dealt with the worst kind of betrayal in case their houses were confronting sides in a war. After having seen Ennoshita deny his head and therefore make it clear that he didn’t need him to stay with him, Akaashi again slept in the same bed with Bokuto since he had accepted that he liked to sleep with him, although the vice-captain and the seeker of his team were his roommates.

“Akaashi!” Ennoshita exclaimed, looking at his best friend seeming to be completely offended. “Because you couldn’t live without me," He added immediately smiling proudly.

While the two black-haired ones looked at each other, one smiling and the other just watching him while many thoughts flooded his head, Konoha rested his eyes on the leader of his team after having taken a look at the two leaders of the opposite house.

“You understand that although you love Akaashi a lot, we must make his team lose, right?” He asked.

Bokuto raised both eyebrows.

“How do you know I love Akaashi?”

The vice-captain made the tip of his broom sink into the stomach of the two-color-haired one by hearing him be concentrated only on the first part of his sentence, and Bokuto pout his lip before stroking the area where Konoha hit him.

“I understand,” The Hufflepuff captain assured him, to then turned his eyes to the other captain. "I'm excited," He added along with a smile on his face.

"I hope that emotion will make us win," Konoha said.

Although Bokuto's amber gaze was only rested on Akaashi, the same couldn’t be said of the other players in both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. From the rostrum, Tanaka kept his calm gaze on the one next to the captain of Ravenclaw, since he couldn’t and didn’t want to stop looking at him, although he was forced to look at Kunimi from time to time, because he didn’t like him and because he didn’t like that he was on the same team as Ennoshita, nor in his own house. The one who would be the guardian of the house characterized by the blue color was also observed by his best friend, who couldn’t stop smiling or feeling excited about the game that didn’t involve his house.

On that occasion, those belonging to Slytherin seemed to be extremely focused on those who were from Ravenclaw, since while Kindaichi didn’t stop watching Kunimi wander around the three hoops to get used to his position as guardian of the team, Kuroo had fixed his eyes in Kenma since he had mounted his broom, and Osamu didn’t take off the sight of Suna, who at that moment maintained a conversation with Tsukishima, both with a bat in hand. And unlike his brother, Atsumu didn’t take off his sight of Kita, who although wouldn’t participate in the match since he had hurt his hand during one of the practices, didn’t prevent that anyway one of the twins fixed his attention on him. And just as those belonging to Slytherin watched the Ravenclaws with great attention, the two Gryffindor guardians didn’t take their eyes off the Hufflepuffs. Although the game hadn’t yet begun, Nishinoya was already jumping with joy while exclaiming with great fond the name of Asahi, who smiled awkwardly and with great shame because the cries of the sixth-year could be heard even from where he was. And unlike Nishinoya, who wasn’t silent and was beginning to be looked by a serious Daichi, Yaku didn’t say anything while chasing one of the two new additions to the Hufflepuf team. Lev's excited attitude caught his interest easily, and he didn’t hesitate to look away when the gray-haired one who had been chosen to be an official player of his house, rested his green eyes on him after knowing that he was watching. He greeted him with a fully animated hand, and Yaku decided to move his hand albeit more calmly while Daichi seemed to stop focus on Nishinoya to dedicate an amused smile to him, that was returned only with a roll of eyes.

For their part, others belonging to Slytherin expected Hufflepuff to win the game and continue their good run last year. Futakuchi seemed to want to be anywhere but watching the game that would soon begin, and Yahaba seemed more interested in casting a glance at his best friend instead of watching the game itself.

And all of them rested their eyes on the captains who approached each other.

"Your uniform matches with your eyes," Bokuto said, although they only had to shake hands.

Certainly it was true that the blue and gray stripes that was under a bluish tunic, with the Ravenclaw shield in one of the upper corners that in turn covered part of the black pants that were also hidden behind brown boots dark, combined with the bluish hue of Akaashi's analyzers eyes.

“I guess I can say the same.”

Bokuto's amber-aroused look matched the dark yellow tunic beneath which a diver similar to Akaashi's but with yellow and black stripes appeared, as well as the white pants and brown boots he wore.

Tsukishima had been the first to stifle a laugh after considering that they held an intimidating and badass image while the Hufflepuff team could be considered a swarm of bees.

“I like your eyes,” Bokuto smiled animated and stretched his hand towards his.

Akaashi swallowed heavily and stretched out his hand as well, and neither of them withdrew his hand when it could be considered that they had been shaken.

"I like yours too," Akaashi said, looking at their joined hands, and therefore, losing the obvious smile the Hufflepuff in front of him held.

Coach Ukai blew the whistle to indicate that they should only shake hands and not turn the whole game in a conversation between the two of them, and the two captains took one last look at each other before the two teams joined in their respective rounds, both leaders being seen with curiosity by the rest of their players.

Nerves were evident. The emotion was clear. The competition between both houses was obvious.

Everyone in the Ravenclaw round turned their eyes towards the opposing team's round when they heard cries of excitement and saw the players high-five each other and the captain and the team's seeker shake their arms with great emotion, but Akaashi turned again to observe the tip of his broom. It was his first game as captain. He was the leader of the team, and therefore the one in charge of enunciating words inspired enough so that the other players of his team who were in that round, felt capable of being able to give their all and not afraid or nervous only because Hufflepuff was the champion since last year.

“Akaashi, remember captain's words are important!”

Instead of turning around when he heard Bokuto's voice, he decided to take a deep breath and close his eyes for a moment. He was right. The captain's words before and after a game were extremely important, because it could improve the team's spirit and even encourage the players to carry out a good game, demonstrating what they knew what to do and why they had been chosen to represent Ravenclaw inside the quidditch stadium.

What words could he say?

He could give a long speech but didn't want to, and he knew the team players wouldn’t listen to him either and would even wonder why he added more and more prayers. He had to say something short and concise, something that motivated them and that gave them the confidence that maybe he couldn’t give them with his presence only. He had to find the words that summed up the team's strategy and that represented each one equally. He had to mention what united them and what could consecrate them victory.

His concentrated blue gaze caught the attention of those around him once he opened his eyes again. He had decided, and wondered why he had taken so long looking for the right words when the answer had always been with him.

He would intone what he had been doing up to that moment and what he would continue to do even if the match ended, no matter what the outcome would be. He would say the reason why the house they belonged to was known for possessing certain characteristics. He would express why they were the way they were and why everyone in that round had been sorted in Ravenclaw.

"Thinking is not a waste of time." He stated.

Those belonging to Hufflepuff stopped feeling completely proud of their previous victory in the championship of the previous year when those belonging to the opposing team broke the round between them and joined the biggest round of the two houses. All being completely serious and highly concentrated in the game that would begin. All, except Ennoshita, who smiled sideways because he was totally proud that his best friend had been elected captain of their team. Not only because he was his best friend and roommate, but also because he had proved himself to be the only one capable of concentrating what they thought in just one sentence that had been the correct one to intone before the game.

Coach Ukai once again blew the whistle, and the screams of the students in the stands were heard even more as the players inside the stadium quickly moved once the balls were released, just as Terushima and Kenma were the first to disappear of the field of view of all when they didn't hesitate to go after the snitch as soon as it was released.

And unlike what the majority expected, Ravenclaw was the first to get control of the game after being Ennoshita that in taking the quaffle and take the first second of confusion to quickly approach the hoops where they had to score points, passing by the side of a terrified Yamaguchi who, despite having a bat in his hands to prevent bludgers from hitting the players of his team, used it to fail to hide behind it because the aura of competence of the Ravenclaw chaser frightened him enough to feel that he himself was a bludger. And the first ten points were consecrated for Ravenclaw once Sakusa threw the ball to the middle hoop after Watari failed to reach it and Ennoshita had passed it to him. They high-fived and the first one who had touched the ball formed a totally charming smile and winked at the captain of his team, who shook his head while avoiding to smile.

“Yamaguchi!”

The fifth-year felt that his soul left his body when he heard the voice of his captain.

“You better not have told our game strategies to your boyfriend! I don’t want to kick you out of the team for treason!”

Bokuto didn’t hesitate to exclaim those words after glimpsing that Tsukishima had also begun to approach the other fifth-year even if they were from different teams. However, both the blond and the green-haired one seemed to transform into statues upon hearing his words. Yamaguchi cocked his head after thinking that he would release a string of prayers against him for not doing anything to stop Ennoshita, so confusion replaced his nerves. And from his place, Konoha smiled because Bokuto managed to make the players of his team stop being totally nervous even if he wasn’t even aware of what he achieved with just being himself.

"He is not my boyfriend," Yamaguchi said.

“Treason!”

The vice-captain of Hufflepuff only approached to hit with his bat the head of the captain of his own team so he would returned to concentrate on the game like the other two fifth-years, no one but Akaashi glimpsing Tsukishima seeming to be annoyed with the words of Bokuto, who had been distracted when Asahi managed to have the quaffle in his hands when a bludger threatened to hit Sakusa's broom, but was forced to pass it to Lev when the other bludger came towards him thanks to Suna.

The fifth-year accelerated his pace and managed to equalize the points between both teams after getting the first ten points for Hufflepuff for throwing the quaffle towards the lower hoop, which Kunimi failed to reach. Not because he wasn't given the time to react, but because he thought it wouldn't  come and therefore remained in the middle hoop.

The captain and vice-captain of Ravenclaw exchanged glances.

“Akaashi, as captain you must make all your players be motivated!”

While the aforementioned didn’t react to the voice of the other captain, Ennoshita tightened his grip on his broomstick. He went after the quaffle without hesitation and quickly threw it to his captain before being intercepted by Konoha, and for the first time since the game had begun, Akaashi held the ball between his hands and it was enough for there to be a quick exchange of glances between he and Sakusa so that they both went side by side towards the Hufflepuff hoops. Akaashi bent down to avoid a bludger and barely stretched his arm to pass the ball to Sakusa, who did the same and therefore returned it after being forced to do so because both Asahi and Lev went after him. Watari managed to touch the quaffle that Akaashi threw, but in any case the ball only touched the tips of his fingers, and therefore, Ravenclaw again had the advantage.

And Sakusa was the one who took the quaffle while Akaashi approached Ennoshita.

“Hey,” He said.

The vice-captain watched him, and his jaw dropped as Akaashi winked at him imitating him. The Ravenclaw captain refocused on the game while Ennoshita still stupefied, as did Bokuto, whose eyes sparkled because he loved to look at Akaashi even though they were in the middle of a game where their houses were facing each other, even though his eyes stopped holding that brightness that only appeared when he looked at Akaashi, as Sakusa passing quickly by his side caught his full attention. Because it could be said that if he loved to look at Akaashi, it could also be said that he detested the one who at that moment threw the quaffle to Ennoshita for being intercepted by Lev.

Sakusa, whose personality was abstracted and totally closed, had managed to become a fundamental part of the team and even one of the three best quidditch players. Not because he twisted his brain planning strategies like Akaashi, or because he was highly competitive like Ennoshita, or even an endless thinker and meticulous observer like Kenma; but because he hated being surrounded by people and being the center of attention thanks to all those present in the gallery chasing him with their eyes when the ball was in his hands, so he moved fast enough to feel that uncomfortable pressure offered for others the least amount of time possible. Many might wonder why, then, he had joined the team if that involved working in group and facing the players of the other houses. And they would never find an answer that would satisfy their doubts. But everyone on the team knew that Sakusa and his distaste for the big crowds had turned out to be a great weapon.

“Akaashi, I don’t like one of your players!” Bokuto exclaimed when Sakusa got another ten points for his house.

Instead of hitting him with his bat, Konoha opted to hit him with his own hand, because although he knew that his best friend was one of the best players in the team and a great captain, those qualities didn’t stand out when he was totally focused on the captain of the opposing team instead of focusing on the game like the rest of the players.

Asahi held the ball in his hands when Tsukishima wasn’t able to block a quaffle that went towards Ennoshita, but Hufflepuff continued to be at a disadvantage even if he managed to get ten points after throwing the ball into one of the hoops. And yet, soon the game started to go in a different direction when the quaffle thrown into the hoops of Ravenclaw was well received and uninterred because Kunimi didn’t seem to be giving his best or being fast enough, not because he couldn’t, but because his own thoughts warned him that he wouldn’t arrive. In addition, Suna had basically become the only beater on his team because Tsukishima seemed to be with his head anywhere but in the match, although for his part, Konoha had begun to feel the same because nerves had betrayed Yamaguchi, who was trembling and could barely block the bludgers who were addressing himself.

The words that Bokuto had spoken before the match began, finally begun to be received by Akaashi instead of being ignored, since each time he held the quaffle, it was impossible for him to sustain the concentration he wanted because the voice of the other captain interrupted the strategies that his brain wanted to think about for each occasion. He couldn’t think clearly or quickly, but he was quickly saved by Sakusa, or Ennoshita, who also begun to notice what Bokuto's words were causing in his best friend, since he knew that he could play much better and develop in a better way in case of not being distracted all the time. And therefore, he started to leave the typical competition that accompanied him so that it would be replaced by the annoyance that Bokuto's words provoked in Akaashi.

Asahi and Lev seemed to have made a good team because both seemed confident that if one had to make a pass, the other would be there to receive it, and between the two managed to make the necessary points for the result of the game to be turned around so Hufflepuff was the one to take the advantage. In addition, Watari did seem willing to stop the ball no matter how many times he was pressed by the presence of the chasers near the hoops of his team, so he had been able to block more times than the Ravenclaw guardian.

For his part, the only one who knew what was happening with the two seekers of both teams was Kuroo, since he hadn’t taken his eyes off Kenma regardless of whether that disappeared from time to time or was too fast like Terushima. Both had found themselves close to catching the snitch but so far none had succeeded, and even though Kenma had to stay focused on catching that golden ball, Kuroo knew that he also begun to notice the mistakes his team was making.

It was clear that both teams begun to have their respective problems, and although Suna was considered a good beater because he had one of the best scores in blocking the bludgers that were directed towards his team as well as a great ability to make them go towards the players of the opposing team, he couldn’t block the balls and score points at the same time, so it didn’t matter that at that moment he managed to direct one of the bludgers towards Lev, since he threw the quaffle at Bokuto before he had to move, and therefore, didn’t prevent Hufflepuff from getting another ten points.

A big smile appeared on his face.

“Akaashi, you should make a point equal to mine so everyone can say we are both good captains!” He exclaimed, barely glimpsing the one with black hair holding the quaffle in his hands.

However, he didn’t expect a sudden shout to interrupt him.

“Shut up!”

Finally, someone reached his limit.

"Shut up." Ennoshita repeated.

Bokuto remained stupefied looking at him with his eyes wide open, and Konoha approached them as soon as he heard him.

Everyone remained surprised, and even Akaashi threw the ball to Sakusa when he heard his best friend.

The interruption caused by Ennoshita meant a change not because his developed personality was a surprise, but because despite being loose with his way of being, he always ended up keeping everything to himself. So his raised tone of voice caught the attention of anyone who knew him enough to know that he hated confrontations that weren't sought by himself, so in that case, he was doing the opposite. Even Yahaba rested his attention on him just as Kenma had slowed down to observe the situation, knowing that Terushima wouldn’t catch the snitch before him because it had disappeared from their sight, so the Hufflepuff seeker was also stunned in his place.

From the strands, Tanaka looked worried.

Ennoshita continued with his gaze on Bokuto.

“You are not in Ravenclaw, but in Hufflepuff. That is the reason for this game, we belong to different houses. You are from Hufflepuff, I am from Ravenclaw. Akaashi is from Ravenclaw. He is the captain of Ravenclaw. Worry about leading your own team instead of saying what ours should be like. If for you Akaashi is a good captain or not, it doesn’t matter. We decide it, his team, and himself. Not you. So once and for all, stop criticizing him as if you had the right to judge his captaincy, and focus on your own team. That is the goal of this game.”

His words were clear and concise. He left no room for doubt and his voice was just as serious as his face as he expressed them. Yes, the result of the match had started to annoy him because some of his teammates weren't giving their best and they were losing the first game, but that wasn’t what had made him lose his patience, but the words that Bokuto had been exclaiming to his best friend throughout the game. That he had to put his attention on other players, that he had to be faster or carried out a particular play, that he had to say or do such a thing because he was the captain, that he had to act in such a way because he was the leader of the team, or that he had to demonstrate more emotion and congratulate his players in a certain way when one of them managed to add points for his house. And although Akaashi had chosen to try to concentrate even though he had to listen all of that throughout the game, Ennoshita noticed that it was impossible for him no matter how much he tried to isolate the Hufflepuff captain's voice in order to think clearly. And he grew tired, not only because of the words expressed during the game, but because of all the words he had mentioned since the classes had begun.

The fact that Sakusa won ten points for Ravenclaw, distracted everyone.

With Konoha concentrating on the discussion, and Yamaguchi being the other and only Hufflepuff beater, it was easy for the Ravenclaw cheaser to move strategically so that the bludgers would further annoy the other two Hufflepuff chasers instead of him, since although he was known as one of the best players because of his speed, that didn’t mean he continued to be as thoughtful as the others. In addition Suna had found himself concentrating on also diverting bludgers towards Asahi, Lev and Yamaguchi. The two sixth-years Ravenclaws worked well as a duo, and had shown it with the newly earned points for the house they both belonged to.

Konoha approached Bokuto as well as Akaashi to Ennoshita, as some teachers, several students and even coach Ukai, began to focus on them wondering what topic was important enough for them to chat and stop concentrating on the game. Kenma and Terushima exchanged glances with each other, and without saying anything that said they cared about the other players in their own teams, they moved again behind the snitch that appeared in front of them.

Ennoshita looked down as soon as he found himself with his best friend.

"I'm sorry," He said, thinking that maybe he went too far.

However, he looked up when Akaashi searched for his eyes.

“Thanks.”

The one who had lashed out at the Hufflepuff captain for justified reasons, grinned reluctantly at that word, knowing that although it wasn’t the right time to let Bokuto know what place to take, his best friend was grateful to him because he had needed someone to speak for him. And while the two best friends moved again like the rest of the players so that Sakusa wasn’t the only Ravenclaw chaser on scoring points, Bokuto remained completely stupefied. Since although Konoha had separated him with him, he had been able to listen to Akaashi thanking Ennoshita, which meant that he had spoken only with the truth.

“He's right,” He finally focused on Konoha when he heard him. The Hufflepuff's vice-captain didn’t seem to want to sing those words or be sure he wanted to because he knew how his own best friend would react, but he continued to talk anyway. “I hate to admit it, but Ennoshita is right. I know you love Akaashi and you only want the best for him. But you're not doing it, Bo.”

“But I…”

Bokuto was confused enough to not know what words to say.

“We'll solve it after the game. Now we must stay focused," Konoha mentioned after glimpsing Lev stretching his arms and smiling widely because he had scored ten points for their team. “You’re the captain and I the vice-captain of Hufflepuff. We can’t fail the others.”

Having said that, Konoha stopped staying by his side to focus on the match, since he hadn't been totally focused either, having paid attention to all the words that Bokuto had dedicated to Akaashi so far. And he had also kept an eye on Ennoshita, since he knew that he would probably explode before the Ravenclaw captain because he was very clear about the reactions that Bokuto's actions and words could have on people. And he had found out right.

The flow of the game changed again when Bokuto seemed to join.

The change of expression on his face was evident, as well as that of Ennoshita.

Ravenclaw began to reach Hufflepuff with the points that the vice-captain and the captain of the team began to score because neither of the two was distracted by the Hufflepuff captain's voice because it wasn’t heard again. They were able to recompose the lost points due to the laziness of Kunimi and the mistakes of Tsukishima, and adding that Suna and Sakusa had never stopped demonstrating their skills, Ravenclaw managed to reduce the difference of points between both houses.

However, Hufflepuff had had the advantage of the game most of the time, and Terushima being the one to catch the snitch was what made the house characterized by the colors yellow and black, to be consecrated the winner of the game.

And all the players of that house celebrated, except for the captain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A Ravenclaw's mind is not always something to be envious about.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy pride month!! We are valid no matter who we are and who we love and all the close-minded people who judge just need to get a lifeee and let people be free and happy. Love yourself and if you are still in your shield its okay because knowing yourself is already a big step only loveee
> 
> Finally, some kinkuni for my soul  
> Also, its Kindaichi's birthday! Coincidence? I don't think sooo, ayeee happy birthday turnip head

Although they were used to silence to dominate over conversations in the room, because although they adored to chat among themselves or to hold conversations when one couldn’t sleep, it was more normal for the three of them to remain silent in order to study the three in the same place, or that no one would say a word because they simply didn’t feel like doing it. They became accustomed to having silence dominate in the friendship that the three of them held, so the absence of words between them wasn’t something that bothered them. However, at that moment the silence that predominated wasn’t one that led in a good way the atmosphere that was created in the room.

Although Kenma kept his fingers glued to the sides of his electronic device and his face was illuminated by the light that came from the screen, he had paused the game more than fifteen minutes ago. He kept lying face down and with the left side of his face on the mattress of his bed, while Ennoshita was laid on top of him face down horizontally, keeping a pillow under his flexed arms, and his stomach on Kenma's lower back. Akaashi kept the palms of his hands together to use them as a pillow, even though he also had a pillow that he had put while his two roommates were one lying on top of the other, having decided to use both Kenma's hip and the back thighs of Ennoshita to place the pillow there and lie down with his knees bent to the left. The three of them were lying in Kenma's bed a long time ago, and so far no one had uttered a word.

Although the physical contact between the three was excessive and they also were in the same room, each was immersed in their own thoughts. Even though Kenma kept his eyes fixed on the screen of the electronic device, it was evident that his eyes indicated that he was totally lost. The image of Terushima managing to catch the snitch before him kept repeating itself in his mind, and he couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if it had been faster. More strategic. More skillful.

The victory. Ravenclaw would have won.

That would have happened.

He buried his full face on the mattress and dropped the electronic device on it.

While being on top of him, Ennoshita kept his eyes closed as he kept thinking about what had failed so that his house didn’t win the game. The actions of all the Ravenclaw players went through his mind, and he tried to divide the game by moments so that he could concentrate on every moment in which the team he belonged to had failed. They didn’t played badly, since they considered that having lost against last year's champion house only for a few points more than those awarded by the snitch, wasn’t a failure. He had enjoyed playing Quidditch again and finding himself on his broom with his friends, but he kept concentrating on every mistake they had made, on every flaw they had shaped, and on every inaccuracy that had cost them the victory.

He took his head off the pillow to turn slightly to the left and take a look at Akaashi, who was still in the same position and staring at the mattress, so Ennoshita again dropped his head on the pillow.

Akaashi was probably the most submerged in his thoughts.

He spoke with the rest of the players after the match because being the captain of the team implied that he was the one who had to lift the spirits of the others, and with the help of Ennoshita they managed to keep the others from falling completely, although that didn’t mean that they didn't later. And there they were, both of them together with Kenma, totally decayed. Without speaking, and tired. Not only physically, but also emotionally.

Unlike Ennoshita, instead of wondering why they didn’t won, Akaashi kept repeating why they didn’t achieve victory. Most of their strategies practiced in training had gone well and been followed to the letter, but not enough to win. Sakusa and Suna proved to be good players because their abilities as a chaser and beater were exceptional, but it wasn’t enough. Kenma didn’t stop chasing the snitch and Ennoshita flew from one place to the other throughout the match, but it wasn’t enough. Kunimi found himself in front of the hoops and Tsukishima was chose as an official player, but it wasn’t enough. He himself had been in the game, analyzing it, understanding it, thinking as he moved on his broom. Planning new strategies as that progressed, as each house made new points, and as they each time saw more pressure. He didn’t stop thinking at any time, but it still, wasn’t enough.

Because besides, as much as he thought, he also was extremely distracted.

In addition, the words that Bokuto had repeated throughout the match didn’t stop reproducing in his head. His words continued to condition him and as a result of that he kept wondering if he made the right choice on accepting being the captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team. He liked that others trusted him to be guided, to listen to him, and not to be afraid to tell him something if he was in a different position. But he was no longer sure of himself or the role he played. If they lost the first game with him in charge of the team, then how good a captain could he be considered if he wasn’t even able to concentrate no matter how hard he tried?

"Don’t do it." He heard suddenly.

Unable to know how long they had been silent, Ennoshita was the first to break it. He raised his head when he stopped lying on Kenma and chose to sit up and cross his legs, allowing Akaashi to use them as a pillow even if he had one under his head. Kenma moved when Ennoshita stopped being on him, and he turned around so he could lie down, with his head close to Akaashi's.

Ennoshita gently pulled a lock of the other dark-haired boy's head when he didn’t hear an answer from him.

“Did you hear me? Don’t do it." He repeated.

Akaashi let out a big sigh.

"I don’t know what you're talking about," He inquired, still staring at the mattress, since he didn’t want his eyes to meet the golden gaze of his roommate.

“Don't doubt yourself or your position in the team.” Ennoshita said.

The three were silent again.

It were moments like those in which Akaashi detested that his roommate knew him so well, although he had expected Ennoshita to read his thoughts, and that Kenma would also do it even though he hadn’t said anything, since they were best friends and belonged to the same house, and as the two of them could read their thoughts, Akaashi also sensed what his two friends had been concentrating on for the last few minutes. Or last hour.

“I'm the vice-captain, so I'm expected to know what's good for the team. And you being the captain is what the team needs, Akaashi. Don’t think otherwise.”

"Ennoshita is right." Finally Kenma also let out a word.

And Akaashi decided to raise his eyes to look at him.

The one with black roots and blond hair was staring at him. There was no trace of doubt in his eyes, so he had spoken not only to speak, but because he really believed the same as Ennoshita.

"We didn’t win," Akaashi stated.

“We'll train more. We’ll think more. Do you remember what you said before the game?”

"Thinking is not a waste of time." Kenma repeated for him.

Akaashi didn’t doubt that his roommates were right.

They lost not because he was distracted, but because he thought too much.

It wasn’t a waste of time, but it wasn’t convenient that all his thoughts were mixed and fought among themselves when he had to concentrate on the game he had played at the time. They lost because his own thoughts had distracted him.

Not thinking was dangerous. And thinking too much too.

Not thinking was as critical as thinking too much.

Akaashi let out another sigh before resting his hands on the mattress so he could sit up, and Kenma watched him from his position as well as Ennoshita did.

"I need air," Was all he said.

The eyes of his best friends remained on him until he left the room.

What he needed wasn’t air, but to stop thinking.

He wasn’t surprised when he saw the common room completely empty, not only because it was already late and probably most were already sleeping, but also because the lost game involved the whole house after all, so there was no reason for someone to stay very awake. He left the Ravenclaw tower and walked down the hall. It was the weekend so no teacher could reprimand him for being out of his bedroom.

He didn’t know how to define his mood. He could assure that many emotions were fighting inside him to be able to be victorious, so he preferred that they continue developing a pitched battle with each other instead of beginning to think how he really felt. He didn’t want to think as he always did, nor to give his brain more work than for that time it was only asking him to go back to his room and throw himself into his bed to finally sleep, and therefore rest.

That is what he needed. Shut down for a while.

He needed to sleep, so he went back the way he had walked, not even surprised at having changed his mind so quickly about wanting to leave his room.

“Akaashi,” Suddenly a voice stopped him.

He remained still in his place when, for the first time, he heard that voice express his name dully. He always heard his tone of voice extremely excited, entertaining and fun. He knew who was with him even if he had pronounced his name in a completely different way, because even his tiredness being replaced by nervousness was evidence of the same.

"I was looking for you," Bokuto said. He sounded identical to a child whose parents had just scolded him, “You won’t come to sleep with me todight?” He asked him.

Again his voice managed to paralyze him. That question stopped him completely.

He didn’t talk with him since the start of the game. Bokuto had spoken to him throughout the match but he had never answered, so he didn’t consider that they had held a conversation while their houses had clashed.

Akaashi swallowed heavily. Fatigue overcame him and he didn’t want to remain the center of the problems that he created. He didn’t know if he wanted to go with him or not. But he didn’t want to think about the answer either. He didn’t want to think more about that night, so he resumed his step.

"I know you were pretending." Bokuto's voice stopped him for the third time.

The bicolor-haired one didn’t want to get used to sleeping on his own no matter that meant to tell Akaashi what he knew. And Akaashi had found himself so focused on the game that during the same he had forgotten to pretend that Amortentia was still part of his system.

“I talked with Kageyama. I know that the effects of the potion disappear as soon as you take the antidote. I know it since after the first night you slept with me. I know you've been pretending all this time, Akaashi," He repeated, “Well, you haven’t really been pretending. You've been being yourself actually, so I'm not angry. Quite the opposite.”

He had thought so much, that even Bokuto, who was known to distract himself with great ease and forget the greatest details with the same speed, had realized that in reality Akaashi had never acted under the effects of the potion, but under the consequences of his own decisions.

The one belonging to Ravenclaw finally turned to see him.

It was one of the few times that Bokuto was calm. Without being noisy and without intentions to capture the attention of everyone else around him, since he was only interested in catching the boy's interest in front of him, although that was always that way. His hair was somewhat deflated and a distressed expression dominated his face. It wasn’t the Bokuto that everyone crossed every day, but the one that few people knew, being Akaashi one of them.

“Sorry for being a fool during the game. I won’t bother you anymore, I promise. I don’t want you to sleep apart from me. I don’t want to miss you, although I always miss you even if you are by my side. I understand if you don’t want to come because our houses faced each other on the field but I assure you that I won’t let anyone bother you. I would never let someone bother you, no matter what house they are in. Nothing will happen to you being with me. I know I can be annoying, but don’t stop sleeping with me for that reason. Asleep I'm quiet, right? So I won’t bother you. Just keep sleeping with me. I don’t want to be alone.”

The walls that Akaashi had unconsciously created around him as the game progressed, fell apart in matter of seconds. Bokuto managed to demolish the wall he had built by just mentioning those words, and Akaashi pressed his lips to avoid forming a small smile. The boy in front of him was so obvious and so easy to read, he was so sincere when he spoke, and he wasn’t afraid to express what he really felt. He was clumsy putting sentences together, but those were honest enough so that Akaashi wouldn’t run. He was aware that Bokuto shared a room with Konoha, Komi and Asahi, since even he himself seemed to have become another roommate after spending the last four nights with them, so he also knew what kind of loneliness he was referring to when he mentioned not wanting to be alone.

He didn’t know if he was upset about what happened in the game or knew what would have happened if his best friend hadn’t intervened on his behalf, but he did know that Ennoshita would be angry with him if he didn’t return to his room in at least five minutes because he hadn't defended him and raised his voice in the middle of the game so that he would end up following the same path he had been going through the last few nights.

“Please.”

Bokuto approached him as well as extended his hand after articulating that desperate plead that left in evidence the lack of sleep he would have in case of returning without company to his bedroom, no matter that all his friends were celebrating the won game. The only person he wanted to be with was the boy in front of him, who didn’t know what to do or what to say.

He didn’t want to think about the situation. He didn’t want to think what would happen if he left with Bokuto, nor what would happen if he didn’t and return to the Ravenclaw Tower. He was tired of causes and consequences, of decisions and results.

But how could he refuse to leave with that boy whose amber eyes only shone for him? How could he prefer to sleep alone in his bed when he knew the boy for whom he had pretended to be under the effects of the potion, was asking him to once again be at his side? How could he refuse when the potion had made clear what his true feelings were?

Akaashi shut the voice inside him before turning the situation around.

Doubting, he approached him after deciding to join his hand with his, and the affliction in Bokuto's face was replaced by a great smile of tranquility as well as his hair seemed to be the same as always, like his personality. With complete softness, he pulled the dark-haired one to follow him to the other side of the corridor, and for that night, and for the fifth time in a row, a bed remained empty.

Although it wasn’t the only empty in all Hogwarts. 

* * *

 

Yaku let out a yawn as he continued to watch the moon above him.

He had become accustomed to staying out of his room when he was allowed after being a weekend night, and since he had been in the same Astronomy’s class as Oikawa, he had become accustomed to having the habit of observing the sky when it was night and the moon could be observed without hindrance by the absence of clouds. Few stars decorated the sky, but the moon shone its definite crescent figure.

He was tired, but not enough to go back to his room and sleep.

He had been watching through the window of his room for a long time, until he decided it wasn’t enough and he didn’t want Daichi to think he was an obsessed boy who preferred to use his sleep hours looking out the window instead of sleeping in his bed, so he chose to leave his bedroom and sit in one of the castle's internal gardens. There were too many to count, and Yaku always chose to observe the moon by randomly choosing the garden. The one he was in wasn’t that far from his common room, so he would soon be in his bedroom if he wanted to return.

But he was calm. And alone. Without anyone bothering him or interrupting his moment of peace.

Or at least he thought that, until he heard footsteps near him.

Steps too fast for him to realize that in fact someone was approaching him at high speed until suddenly a long figure appeared at his side and fell on top of him without hesitation and with complete confidence, to which Yaku would had released a shout and even frightened if he hadn’t guessed that it was Lev, who since he had known him, seemed to have a mania to appear in that unique way. Throwing himself on top of him without caring about the great height difference between them or the need to keep each one his personal space.

“Lev!” He exclaimed indignantly when he finally knelt by his side.

His grayish hair seemed even lighter in the moonlight, and his greenish gaze stood out even more and he seemed more alive than ever, but his great excited smile was what captured Yaku's true attention. The fifth-year smiled extremely happy, and although he was kneeling, he seemed desperate to run around the castle as well as keep moving because of all the emotion that his body felt.

“Stop doing that when you see me. You really scare me. It's late too," He added, shaking his head before giving him a look, and then let out a sigh.

His moment of tranquility was completely interrupted. His time alone with the moon was cut by the one who had just appeared even if it was late, and suddenly Yaku realized what time it was, and especially the night it was.

“What are you doing here? It's late but, shouldn’t you be with the others in your house celebrating you won?” He asked.

"Yes, they’re still celebrating," Lev answered, smiling even more, in a dazed and innocent way.

“So?”

“I wanted to see you,” He replied.

“Me? Why?”

“Because our houses have been those to win,” He answered totally excited.

Yaku raised both eyebrows, smiling amused.

“Oh yeah? And what will you do once our houses face each other?” He asked.

“Well, Hufflepuff will win,” He said as if it was something obvious.

The seventh-year didn’t hesitate to hit him in the head as soon as he heard him, and Lev rubbed that part of his body with his hand, realizing that at least he seemed to be smart enough to have wrapped himself up before abandoning the quality of his common room, since it was cold and more being night, although he himself didn’t doubted to leave his room or escape from the common room of Gryffindor to be able to observe the night without any wall in the middle.

“Don't be so sure, idiot. Do you forget that I am the guardian of Gryffindor? And if I'm not there, Nishinoya is also a great keeper?”

Lev raised an eyebrow, and since he appeared, it was the first time he didn’t hold a smile.

“Nishinoya? Won’t you play when our houses face each other?”

“Most likely not. I played against Slytherin, so it’s fair for Nishinoya to take my place against you. It has always been that way because fortunately we are both good guardians," He explained without any hint of arrogance in his words.

The gray-haired one frowned as soon as he heard him.

“What’s wrong with you now?” Yaku asked when he saw him.

“I want you to be in the stadium too. I want you to be the one who can’t prevent me from scoring points.”

Lev again won a blow from the eldest. Precisely in the ribs on that occasion.

“Well, it's most likely Nishinoya who will deal with your shots, so get used to it.” Yaku said hugging his knees.

Lev rested the palms of his hands on the lawn behind him once he stopped kneeling so he could sit down like Yaku and bend his knees. He directed his gaze to the sky when he saw the one next to him doing that, although he observed the moon still with a frown. However, his expression was replaced by a big smile when he felt Yaku's head resting on his arm. And while the seventh-year continued with his eyes on the moon that continued to shine for him, Lev fixed his eyes on the head with light brown hair that was resting on his arm. 

* * *

Kindaichi looked closely at the place where he was because he never before had the opportunity to be there, not only because he shouldn’t, but also because he never believed he would know that space, until a very familiar voice caught his interest.

"Sorry to bother you so late," Kunimi inquired.

Kindaichi smiled sideways.

“It’s not a bother,”

The one belonging to Slytherin continued to be amazed at all the differences between the common room of his house and that of Ravenclaw. He was used to being near the dungeons and not in one of the castle's many towers.

Most of the lights were off and most of the light provided came from the fire in the fireplace that Kunimi had lit a few minutes ago so they weren’t cold. The two of them were lying face down on the carpet of the floor, and while Kindaichi kept his arms on the ground and moved his feet as he kept his legs bent, he wondered how the one next to him could find himself doing homework at that time of the night being a weekend, since he had an exercise bookin front of him and wrote on a separate sheet.

After dinner, they had both been sitting in one of the corridors next to the Slytherin common room, until the Ravenclaw suggested they go to the common room to stop feeling the cold the night provided, and the curiosity to know the room of that house had been enough for Kindaichi to agree to accompany him, later finding himself impressed from the moment in which instead of saying a password, his best friend had to answer a riddle to be able to enter to which he still continued to try to find the meaning of the answer.

They had stayed in the common room so as not to disturb Tsukishima, who was the roommate of the fifth-year Ravenclaw, and Kunimi mentioned that surely no one would be in the common room that night as the result of the match had fact that all the souls of that house seemed to have transformed into ghosts, although they were never characterized as being of the most festive people.

Kindaichi let out a sigh before turning around and lying on his back with his legs flexed. He stopped wondering at the details in that common room, and turned his gaze to the one next to him, who continued to grope his eyes between the book and the sheet on which he wrote. He knew that his best friend was extremely intelligent and was always up to date with his tasks, so the reason for finding himself writing that night and at that time, was the same reason why Kindaichi hadn’t leave him and had even agreed to be with him in his common room. Because he knew that although they had talked about many things since they had finished dinner, they hadn’t touched the topic of the game that had taken place in the afternoon. And Kunimi wanted to keep his head distracted, and both Kindaichi with his presence and the book on the floor, were necessary for him to achieve it.

For a second, Kunimi looked at Kindaichi out of the corner of his eye, and the Slytherin peer stared at one of the common room libraries, only to realize that he was actually looking at a pile of stacked books, and that the library wasn’t the only one.

“What the- Do you really have so many books here?” He asked.

“Feel free to grab the one you want.”

Kunimi smiled sideways when he felt the narrowed gaze of his best friend because he had detected the obvious irony in his words, but stopped smiling as he released his quill and chose to cross his arms under his head to be able to support that on them. He let out a sigh and looked at his best friend, who seemed to be watching the ceiling.

"I know you want me to talk about the game," He said.

Kindaichi observed him as soon as he heard him.

“Only if you want to.”

Both remained silent for a few minutes, until Kunimi decided to speak.

"I know I could have done more." Kindaichi rested his eyes on him as he began to speak, while the Ravenclaw looked at the blue carpet on which they were both on top, “I know I could have moved more and could have avoided some Hufflepuff points. But I don’t know. Something... in my head prevented me from doing it. There was something that told me that I wouldn’t touch the quaffle no matter if I moved as fast as my body allowed. I don’t even know how to explain it."

“Nerves? Fear?” Kindaichi asked, knowing the obvious answer.

“No, something else. But I don’t know what.”

Since the game was over, Kunimi had avoided being together with the other Ravenclaw players because if he himself didn’t understand why the obstacles to catching the quaffle had come from within himself, then he couldn’t chat with the others either. And he didn’t want to face them either because he knew that for the same reason he had contributed to Hufflepuff taking the victory after having managed to stop only some shots.

As he had just mentioned to his best friend, he couldn’t even find the explanation as to why he had let the players of the opposing team throw into the hoops as if he wasn’t there, and at that moment, Kindaichi proposed an option to him that he didn’t had considered.

“Kunimi... What if someone did something to you?” He mentioned.

“What do you mean?”

The one belonging to Ravenclaw raised his head when he heard him.

Kindaichi didn't need to read any of the many books that were stacked on the shelves of the Ravenclaw common room libraries to think that perhaps, although the fetters had come from his best friend, there was the possibility that someone else had created them.

He looked at his best friend as Kunimi looked at him, and hoped he was wrong.

“What if someone hexed you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Akaashi just wants a calm day.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sick and I have a test on monday yeihhh if there's something worse than studying is studying feeling like meehh

Akaashi rubbed his eyes before opening them slowly and allowing his lashes to separate, feeling that all the stress of the previous day had left his body as well as the discomfort and the disturbing need to stop thinking. No muscles ached because with Ennoshita they had always said that stretching after playing was important, although the last one stretched every possible part of his body each time he got up every morning. He was able to fall asleep without any obstacle and fortunately he didn’t have any dream nightmare that could have interrupted his sleep routine. He just managed to rest, just as he had wanted to.

He remembered that he wasn’t in his room as soon as he looked around. He didn’t see Ennoshita sleeping in his bed, nor did he see Kenma with his electronic device next to him or on his chest, nor did the window of his room serve as his natural alarm. He couldn’t tell if it was dawn or if morning had already passed because only a small rectangular window allowed some clarity to enter the room he was in, but his body felt rested, so he supposed it should be midmorning after having managed to fall asleep for several hours. He formed a slight fist with his hand when he realized that so far, his palm, like his head, had been resting on a chest that rose and fell very slowly. The soft caresses he felt in his hair only made him want to close him eyes again to keep sleeping even though he wasn’t tired, but he looked up to realize that a cheerful and awakened amber gaze was resting on him.

Immediately he ducked his head and heard a chuckle from Bokuto. It was the first morning in which the older of the two had been the first to get up, and therefore the first time he woke up and the sixth-year continued lying next to him instead of having left in evidence his absence because he had already left. A slight blush appeared on Akaashi's cheeks because he was used to leaving the bedroom and the Hufflepuff common room before the older one woke up, so he wasn’t used to being watched while he slept or barely got up.

“It’s Sunday. You have no excuse to leave,” He heard Bokuto say.

A part of Akaashi was glad to hear him. He didn’t have to arrive early to class or rush to change his sleepwear for his uniform, so he really had no excuse to express to be able to leave as he did every morning since he had begun to sleep in one of the Hufflepuff’s bedrooms, although he didn’t want to do it either. And when he realized that he didn’t want to leave, he kept blushing, making the boy next to him not hesitate to embrace him when he saw him completely embarrassed. The sixth-year would have separated himself in case that what caught him weren’t the big biceps and the warm body to which he had already become accustomed, but after a few minutes he was forced to speak.

"Bokuto-san, I can’t breathe," He managed to say as the bicolor-haired one didn’t measure how much his embrace could suffocate him.

“Sorry, Akaashi!” He shouted, making Akaashi close one of his eyes and wrinkle his nose after hearing him scream at that time of the morning, although he knew that sooner or later that would happen considering that the one next to him was Bokuto.

The black-haired one didn’t say anything when they returned to find themselves in the same position as before.

"I like to wake up and see you by my side," Bokuto added, looking at him.

Akaashi bit his lower lip as soon as he heard him.

And he chose to place his head near the older boy's neck and still rest it on his chest as well as his hand, making the smile of the one next to him only increase and bring his head close to his, allowing some black strands tickled his face, and he slid his hand into the boy's back to start caressing him with his fingers.

However, Akaashi's calmness disappeared as soon as he noticed an important detail.

"Bokuto-san..." He began to say, taking off his head from his chest, “And your roommates?” He asked.

The older boy's eyes opened when he realized, as did the boy next to them, that they were totally alone since none of Bokuto’s three roommates were sleeping in their beds and therefore they remained empty. They both turned their eyes to the clock on the bedside table and saw that they were alone for some reason that didn’t involve time, since it was barely ten o'clock in the morning.

Bokuto giggled, making Akaashi watch him curiously.

"Surely they are sleeping in the common room," He replied, extremely carefree.

The sixth-year didn’t seek explanation to his words and returned to lay his head on his chest, because during the previous night, he himself had witnessed the great celebration carried out by the students of that house while Bokuto had guided him to his room, since unlike the common room of his house, Hufflepuff became a real party after the quidditch’s team won the match.

Bokuto prevented Akaashi's body from tightening as his hand formed a fist when he entwined his fingers with his own, both remembering the previous day's game, which was the reason why the younger of both had wanted to continue sleeping for no reason. He felt his brain going back to work at full speed.

“Akaashi... I'm... I'm really sorry.” Bokuto said.

The aforementioned swallowed heavily after knowing what he meant by that sentence.

The boy lying next to him was the same one who during the previous day's game had managed to distract him and therefore not allowed him to concentrate as he would have liked to devise better strategies as the game had advanced, and who had also filled his best friend’s patience. Akaashi opened his eyes after realizing that his roommate would probably be angry with him, and he broke away from Bokuto suddenly.

“I have to go.” He mentioned quickly.

Not because he really wanted to, but because he had to.

His plan was to go back to his room and sit on the edge of Ennoshita's bed until he woke up, if he wasn’t already up, and hope that he wanted to talk instead of throwing to his head all the books he had.

Bokuto formed a small pout with his lips.

“Why?”

Akaashi opened his mouth several times, but gave no response.

Answering that he had to speak with his best friend would only get the conversation to be guided towards what happened in the game, and what Akaashi least wanted was to start the morning talking about that, since counting with the defeat of his team on his shoulders was more than enough.

"I'll take that as an excuse to do this," The older one added when silence was the answer.

He wrapped the sixth-year's waist with his arm to draw him to him and make him lie down next to him, and Akaashi pressed his lips to the thought that perhaps a few more hours with him wouldn’t bother anyone since he had already passed the night there and he could say he had gotten up later than he thought, so he buried his face in Bokuto's neck and put his arm around him.

After a fifth night at his side, he no longer hesitated to show the older one that he liked being at his side, and that his appreciation for sleeping with him instead of in his own room was totally true and honest, and not because he was under the influence of a potion that forced him to become obsessed with him. Bokuto looked at Akaashi when he felt that he tensed again, but on that occasion he didn’t know it was because the younger remembered that the one next to him already knew the truth about the potion and the immediacy of its antidote. 

* * *

Ennoshita didn’t hesitate to drop his book deliberately, not caring that Akaashi gave a little jump both to his sudden presence and the noise caused by the object against the table, because he had just expected that he would realize that he no longer was alone. “Good Morning.” He mentioned, and then he proceeded to sit next to his best friend after expressing that morning greeting.

"Good morning," Akaashi copied him.

Neither of them added anything else.

The newcomer glanced at his best friend while he did nothing but watch the empty plate in front of him, which had previously been full of scrambled eggs and small pieces of bacon. He had hardly touched his food the day before and it could be said that he hadn’t even dined, so he didn’t hesitate to replenish all the energy he had lost. For in addition, Bokuto had been right and Akaashi had had to pawn a great skill not to step on any Hufflepuff student who had fallen asleep in the common room no matter it was on the floor, or in some uncomfortable position in the common room, making a bitter sensation grow inside him as he imagined them celebrating the victory of the game played, and finally retired with crossed arms.

Ennoshita proceeded to open the book he had brought with him but not before raising an eyebrow after noticing that Akaashi was wearing his blue pajama pants and a gray sweater that was too big to be his. He supposed that he didn’t yet passed through their room to change his clothes, because he also didn’t remember hearing him enter or leaving, and because he didn’t need Akaashi to tell him where the spent the night or who the sweater belonged to to know it had to do with Hufflepuff and Bokuto.

And Akaashi was also aware of that, so he didn’t hesitate to speak.

“Are you mad at me?”

Although Ennoshita had expected his best friend to speak first, he didn’t think that the conversation between them would begin with that question.

“I don’t know. Should I?” He asked.

"I don’t know, that's why I'm asking you," Akaashi murmured.

“I don’t know, Akaashi. Why should I be angry exactly?”

His tone of voice turned out to be harder than he wanted.

“Because I didn’t sleep in our room last night.”

“Are you angry about that?”

Akaashi allowed a few seconds to pass before answering, needing to take his time to answer the truth with that question.

“No.” He replied.

"Then neither do I," Ennoshita inquired.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Then why you ask me if you already know the answer?”

“I don’t want you to be angry with me.”

"I don’t know if I'm angry Akaashi, it's just that..." Ennoshita closed his book and rested his elbow on the book's cap, then his chin on the palm of his hand and let out a very exhausted sigh. “I only want the best for you, you know that. And after how he treated you yesterday during the game... that pissed me off.”

"He didn’t mean it," He said.

Akaashi didn’t even know why he was defending Bokuto, since he himself felt that it was partly the fault of the Hufflepuff captain that both he and his best friend couldn’t concentrate during the game as they always did.

“I know. And that pisses me off even more.”

Both friends were angry for different reasons, but what they shared in common was that both wanted the other to not be annoyed by the other's attitudes.

Instead of saying a word, Akaashi rested his head on Ennoshita’s shoulder, who despite spending countless nights sleeping next to him, hugging him suddenly and never being rejected, and being part of the human pile they formed when they were also with Kenma, he knew that his best friend wasn’t the kind of person who longed to establish physical contact, so the surprise caused by that unexpected gesture, managed to make him open his eyes like two large plates and remain totally still because of the sudden closeness and turned his glance towards the hair disheveled of that one.

"I'm angry with myself," Akaashi said, “You defended me and I anyway decided to go with him. I don’t know why you don’t hate me," He added.

Finally, the Ravenclaw captain realized that he was annoyed with himself. Not only because he continued with his ease in yesterday's game, but also because he had been selfish when he left with Bokuto and didn’t return with those who weren’t only his best friends and roommates, but also Quidditch teammates, who probably felt and continued to feel, in the same way because of the outcome of the match. He abandoned them only because he had wanted to spend another night with nothing more nor less than the captain of the team that had beat them.

“Because you're my best friend. That's why." Ennoshita assured him.

“Then I'm a bad best friend.”

“I’m the one deciding that, thank you very much.”

Akaashi tried to pull his head away from his best friend's shoulder, but he was unable to do so when Ennoshita put an arm around his shoulders so that he could tug at him and therefore have him subtract his head back over his shoulder.

“Don't think I'll let this moment pass. This day I have been blessed because you have chosen my shoulder as a pillow for your head. Let me enjoy being the chosen one. I'm also waiting for Kenma to show up to make him jealous.”

Ennoshita heard that Akaashi gave a small giggle at his words, and smiled sideways to himself because that also didn’t happen often, so he supposed that maybe after all, it was good for his best friend to spend his time with Bokuto.

"I know that we always hold interesting discussions, and that I accept when you are right as you accept when I am right. But this time, you were wrong, "Akaashi said, and Ennoshita once again rested his gaze on his head when he heard him, all trace of laughter having disappeared from his tone of voice.

"What do you mean?" He asked him.

Akaashi simply played with his fingers before answering.

"You said my feelings were reciprocal while yours weren't," He explained, and Ennoshita raised an eyebrow, wondering why the reason of those sudden words. Perhaps he had gone ahead thinking that it was good to his best friend to spend time with Bokuto? "Bokuto-san knew that I was with him not because of the effects of the potion, but because I really wanted to," He went on, since it had become clear to him that just as he had pretended to sleep in the Hufflepuff room for the potion, Bokuto had pretended that he also thought it was because of the effects of it. But the previous night he had assured him otherwise. "And yet, he did nothing."

Akaashi pursed his lips, since the fact that Bokuto had told him that he had known that he was pretending that he was under the effects of the potion, then meant that he also knew that the sixth-year had begun to sleep by his side because he wanted to and not for another reason. Which apparently didn't matter because anyway Bokuto hadn't tried anything or said anything that would give Akaashi the idea that Ennoshita was right in thinking that his feelings were reciprocal.

"Akaas-"

"It's okay," He said, his muted tone of voice demonstrating the opposite of his words, and he held a fake smile barely visible when he knew that his best friend would probably tell him that the Hufflepuff captain did correspond to his feelings. "It's better this way," He insisted before releasing a small sigh.

Although Akaashi continued with his eyes on his hands, Ennoshita still observed him, being sure that at least one of them was lucky in love. However, both looked up when Kunimi appeared in front of them. They had hardly spoken to him after the match, and although at that moment he was the one to approach, the pair of best friends had decided that they would talk to him as much as Tsukishima as soon as they had the opportunity to know how they were doing. It had only been a Quidditch match, but in the end it had been a defeat. And nobody liked to lose.

They exchanged glances with each other as they realized that the fifth-year one seemed somewhat uncomfortable.

"I have to tell you something, and I think it's important." He stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The problems in the quidditch field are transferred to the corridors of the castle.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!

Bokuto hadn’t been the only one in his house to skip the celebration carried out for the rest of the students of Hufflepuff, since Yamaguchi hadn’t been present at the small party that his housemates did to celebrate the victory of the game, because he preferred to sleep in the bed of who was more than his best friend by his side. Since just as Akaashi was getting used to spending his nights in one of the Hufflepuff dormitories, Yamaguchi had got used to spend his nights between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, as well as Tsukishima too. At that moment, the one who had spent the night in a bed that wasn’t his, was lying on his stomach with his arms flexed and his hands under his chin, watching the pillow under him with a frown and a small pout. While at his side, Tsukishima was lying on his back, with his gaze fixed on the ceiling of his room. Neither had spoken since they had woken up, and the previous night they hadn't exchanged many words between them either. 

The blond turned his head to look at the one with whom he had become accustomed to spend his nights. Sometimes it was he who slept in one of Hufflepuff's rooms, and sometimes he slept alone because he needed his own space, but most of the time it was Yamaguchi who was in one of the Ravenclaw's bedrooms, since, in addition, Kunimi had also become accustomed to feeling like he had two roommates instead of one. Tsukishima glanced sideways at the bed that was still empty. He hadn’t seen his roommate return at night, so he supposed he came back late and woke up early, or not back at all.

And again he rested his eyes on the one next to him.

“Why are you angry?” He decided to ask him.

Yamaguchi's frown softened when he heard his voice.

"Because even though my house won, I didn’t contribute to the victory." He answered.

He was disappointed with himself because he didn’t think he did his best during the game no matter Hufflepuff won. He had barely been able to block some bludgers, and he was aware that Konoha had done most of the work as well as that he had been intimidated by the other team's players. He knew he could do better, and he didn’t want to disappoint his teammates, nor give them reasons to regret having let him be part of the team as well as to choose him as one of the official players. He was grateful that they had elected him as a starting player, and for that very reason he was annoyed, because he had had his chance to prove that he deserved to be part of the quidditch team of his house and be one of those involved in the game, and he had completely squandered it after letting fear and nerves invade every part of his body.

“Why are you angry?” He asked the blond.

Yamaguchi was aware that the one next to him didn’t carry his best smile because his house had lost against his, but he also knew him enough to know that something else was bothering him. Although apparently not enough to realize that he was the center of what made Tsukishima be even quieter than usual. And the one belonging to Hufflepuff was right to think that the defeat irritated him, as well as that the reason for the seriousness of his face was due to something else, since the blond gave him a look before returning to rest his eyes in the roof.

"Because you said I wasn’t your boyfriend," He murmured after a few seconds.

“What?” Yamaguchi raised his head when he didn’t hear him.

Tsukishima bit the inside of his lower lip. "Because you said I wasn’t your boyfriend," He repeated so that the other could hear him, making him look at him confused. “You told Bokuto-san that I wasn’t your boyfriend, and, I don’t know, it bothered me.”

A huge smile appeared on Yamaguchi's face.

That one by his side was part of the team that had lost the game, and yet he was more annoyed by the fact that he had expressed aloud that they hadn’t yet reached that part of the relationship.

“Why are you smilling?” Tsukishima asked him when he noticed the change in his expression.

And he was surprised when instead of answering, Yamaguchi chose to continue smiling while he didn’t hesitate to embrace him completely happy. Humming as a complaint didn’t prevent him from embracing him too, since he wasn’t used to the Hufflepuff showing him his love in that way, so he took advantage of that occasion while Yamaguchi continued to maintain a big smile on his face although he raised his head to look at him.

"Then let's change that so it doesn’t bother you," He expressed, his smile as innocent as animated.

Tsukishima opened his mouth several times, but couldn’t say anything.

And although suddenly the nerves attacked him because he knew the true meaning hidden behind those words, he felt a wave of tranquility embrace him when he stared at the one who continued to dedicate his most pleasant and entertaining smile. It had really annoyed him that Yamaguchi said he wasn’t his boyfriend, even though it was the truth. Most of the game he had been distracted for that reason, and didn’t want the same thing to happen in the next game even if he didn’t play against the one who was more than his best friend, so he gave him a light touch on the cheek that Yamaguchi seemed to enjoy after a smile of comfort appeared on his face. He had already allowed him to confess what he felt first, so on that occasion, he wanted to be the one to take the next step.

“Do you want to be my boyfriend?” Tsukkshima asked him. 

Yamaguchi nodded completely happy.

"Yes, I do." He answered.

A kiss that began as a quick meeting between their lips after those words were exchanged, soon became a deeper and more intense caress that added their hands brushing their hair or their necks, until the mutual affection and the atmosphere that had begun to grow up between them was soon interrupted when they both heard that the door of the room was opened. It wasn’t the first time that Kunimi broke with the intimate moment of the two who were now an official couple, so none of the three felt embarrassed when the newcomer observed them a few seconds before heading to his bed, although that didn’t prevent Tsukishima from forming a disgusted pout, and he exchanged glances with Yamaguchi when Kunimi sat on his bed, watching his hands and looking more decayed than usual.

“Everything’s okay, Kunimi?” The Hufflepuff asked, sitting up as the one next to him.

The one who had previously met the captain and vice-captain of the Quidditch team to which he and the blond present belonged to, remained silent but looked up as he didn’t know what would happen if he decided to start talking. 

* * *

"You really did sleep with the enemy, Akaashi." Ennoshita voiced.

He walked from one place to the other, not caring that the people who passed by the corridor observed him in a surprise way because his footsteps were strong as his serious face made it clear that he wasn’t at all happy. Meanwhile the boy whose name he had mentioned, was standing with his back against the wall and his arms crossed.

They had decided to leave the Great Hall to talk quietly among them about what Kunimi had told them, although the calm hadn’t appeared to replace the concern they had begun to feel just because they had moved.

They had hoped that the fifth-year would like to chat with them to promise to train more or apologize because he didn’t give his best performance during the game, and they had already thought to respond that it was understandable that he was nervous during his first game and that the next one would be best. They hadn’t figured out what to answer to him after he assured them that he didn’t give his best not because he didn’t want to, but because something, or rather someone, had prevented him to do so. The two team leaders barely knew him, and probably wouldn’t know of his existence even if they belonged to the same house, if it wasn’t for the fact that the three of them played Quidditch, but they didn't hesitate to believe him since Kunimi seemed to be the type of person who accepted his mistakes and not the kind that made excuses to back up his failures.

“You said you accept when I'm right and that I accept when you are right too. Well, this time I still believe I'm right, and that you are the one who is wrong," Ennoshita expressed suddenly as he stopped walking from one side to the other to stay still in front of him.

“You were the one who jump in my defense.”

Akaashi certainly looked at him confused though his face remained as serious as ever, because although Ennoshita had just suggested that he had truly slept with the real enemy after understanding Kunimi's words, he had just insisted that he was still finding himself on the wrong side of the situation after thinking that Bokuto didn’t correspond to his feelings. He didn’t understand why Ennoshita had mentioned it at the time, nor why he had chosen to express those words when it was remarkable that at the moment he was having all the excuses in his favor to refer to Bokuto in a bad way. The Hufflepuff had addressed hurtful words to him during the match and Ennoshita was in fact the one that had jumped in his defense. He had gone to sleep with him although it would have been more reasonable to stay in his room, and Hufflepuff had beaten them.

"And that's precisely why you should believe me." Ennoshita mentioned while Akaashi continued to stare at him. “I want the best for you, and despite what Bokuto said, no matter if it was on the Express, before the game, during the game, or even after the game. Okay, he does know that you were never under the effects of the potion when you slept with him, and yet, he didn’t reject your company. He didn’t make you to stay in your room. He didn’t tell you that he knew you were pretending to be under the Amortentia's effects.”

The vice-captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team only wanted his best friend to see the situation of which he was the protagonist, from a more positive side.

“He's just a good person,” Akaashi gave a simple shrug. “Maybe he didn’t want me to feel embarrassed for lying. I still think he doesn’t like me.” He didn’t hesitate to reiterate, since he didn’t doubt that Ennoshita was mentioning all those words to change his way of thinking.

“And I still think you are not seeing the whole picture.”

“Then I guess I could say the same about you.” Akaashi chose to say, since just as Ennoshita believed that Bokuto corresponded his feelings, he believed the same about him and Tanaka.

"You know well, I know well, that my feelings are not reciprocated for sure." Ennoshita expressed seriously as soon as he knew what implications his words had entailed. “And you want to know why? Because Kiyoko-san actually exists. And whatever you are thinking, does not. There's a real person preventing my feelings to be mutual. In your case, it's just your mind.”

“That the person exists doesn’t mean that your feelings are not reciprocal,” Akaashi didn’t doubt to comment, since for him, Kiyoko remained totally oblivious to the feelings of Ennoshita for Tanaka as well as those of the Gryffindor for his best friend. “I still think your feelings are mutual and not mine.”

“And I think you are the lucky one and not me.”

Both looked at each other and then sighed.

“It seems evident that it doesn’t bother us to analyze situations unless we are the protagonists of them. Don’t you think?” Akaashi asked, beginning to play with his fingers, since just as for him it was obvious that his best friend had a person who felt the same for him, Ennoshita thought the same about him.

"We are so stubborn," Ennoshita agreed.

Akaashi just lifted the curves of his mouth momentarily to then return to remain serious and with his eyes on his fingers. He wouldn’t deny that he was stubborn as his best friend had mentioned, but he really didn’t find another way to look at his own situation when everything was more than obvious to him.

Bokuto had mentioned that he liked to wake up and see him by his side, just as in the same way he hadn’t hesitated to hold him back when he suggested he should leave. He had even spent the night with him even though his housemates had celebrated, and at that moment he was wearing one of his sweaters. But none of that meant that Bokuto corresponded to his feelings, but simply that he didn’t like to sleep alone. Maybe he even felt sorry for having won the game and had thought that inviting him to sleep and he accepting, established a kind of neutrality between both houses, because if they, the captains, were well together, then the rest of the players too. And besides, although Bokuto had said he was sorry, he didn’t mentioned exactly why. So for Akaashi, everything just stayed the same.

With the only difference that apparently, having remained distracted during the game was not the only thing that had led them to lose.

"And if it wasn’t someone from Hufflepuff?" Akaashi asked, returning to the topic of conversation for which they had left the Great Hall.

Kunimi had appeared to convey his thoughts with them, but at no time had he suggested who could be to blame for the reasons he  appeared to talk with them, which had only opened a range of possibilities that basically included all Hogwarts students, or at least the vast majority.

"Are you saying that because you don’t want me to get mad at you for sleeping with Bokuto?”

As soon as he talked, Ennoshita understood that he shouldn’t continue using sarcasm when a threatening look from his best friend was what he received, who also observed him in that way when he wanted to warn him not to try to continue tearing the limit of his patience. Ennoshita didn’t doubt that Akaashi's feelings were reciprocated, but that didn’t mean that at that moment he was willing to doubt anyone, since just as Kunimi's words had opened a range of possibilities, they had also managed to make him to rethink the game in his head, only returning to find himself in a bad mood, since he continued to dislike having lost. And more if the defeat apparently had to do with actions beyond those involved in the unfolding of Quidditch.

“And if it wasn’t someone from Hufflepuff, then who was it? They were against whom we played.” He added.

“What is was what I said before the game? Thinking is not a waste of time.”

Ennoshita also understood that he had to calm down and make a pause to think instead of making deliberate conclusions, leading by the anger that had been established within him because he didn’t consider it fair that someone bewitched the keeper of the team to which they belonged to. Someone stole them the victory, and he would make every effort to stop and think clearly instead of going around the castle pointing his wand to every student who belonged to Hufflepuff.

"I discard anyone from our own house," Akaashi expressed.

“Why?”

“Fukunaga and Kiyoko-san are smart enough to make Kunimi not realize that they bewitched him in case it was them. We don’t have another guardian on the team, and having the team keeper be distracted is partly what caused Hufflepuff to win, and whoever did it in case of being a Ravenclaw, wouldn’t be willing to be rejected by everyone of its same house only to go against Kunimi and therefore against the entire team. Besides, he speaks little, so I doubt he's in a fight with anyone. And then we're the rest of the team players, so messing with him would be messing with us too. And we don’t know any person in our house who wants that.”

"We also discard Kindaichi." Ennoshita said.

“Why?”

“He was the one who gave him the idea that someone could have hexed him.”

“Maybe to pretend to be innocent.”

“I don’t think so. They are best friends no matter if they are from different houses. And I don’t think Kindaichi would be willing to lose his friendship with him. You saw how he was standing at the doors of the Great Hall, looking at Kununi while he talked to us. It shows that he is worried.”

“But we don’t rule out that it could have been someone from Slytherin.”

“Of course not.”

“What about the Hufflepuff players?”

“We can’t have the wands with us during the game.”

“Which doesn’t prevent someone from doing it anyway.”

“And who would you distrust then?” Ennoshita asked, “I propose that we discard Bokuto.”

Akaashi looked at him. "You don’t have to rule him out just because I spend time with him," He said.

“I know. I discard him because during the game he was too obsessed with you to worry about bewitching Kunimi. I doubt he's capable of being mounted on a broom and concentrating on bewitching him when he's in the middle of a game. I'm even surprised that he thought of you during the game, he never concentrates on anything else when it comes to quidditch.”

Akaashi bit his lower lip when he heard that according to his best friend, it was a surprise that the seventh-year had focused on him during the game of quidditch, but shook his head to stop rejoicing in that detail and thus concentrate on the clear problem that they had to solve.

"I propose that we discard the rest of the players as well," Akaashi inquired, “I know that Watari wouldn’t do it, nor would Asahi-san. I'm sure the two freshmen, Yamaguchi and Lev, don’t know how to charm someone, and Kenma would have noticed if Terushima had tried something. Koganegawa wasn’t playing but I have the feeling that he doesn’t even know where he is standing, and Komi-san, Shibayama, and Kai-san have always been decent people as well as Konoha-san. I don’t want to start believing otherwise.”

“Someone else from Hufflepuff could have been. It would be reasonable considering that we played against them.”

Ennoshita observed his best friend after not listening to him hold another comment, and he knew Akaashi was letting his brain work as fast as he could after he recognized that flash of concentration that appeared in his blue eyes when he sought to find an answer quickly.

"Gryffindor won the game and I know I'm not considered a threat as a captain, so if Ravenclaw lost or won, it wouldn’t be a threat to them. Slytherin lost and the situation continues to look unfavorable to them, and between Bokuto's strategies and mine as a captain, mine can be taken as more conflicting when it comes to analyzing and planning tactics in a game. The fact that someone from Slytherin did it could be a possibility, considering that our next match is also against them, and a bad morale in our team for having lost could be convenient considering that they also lost. I think the fact that Kindaichi gave Kunimi the idea was just a coincidence," He explained.

The quidditch tournament involved the four houses, and Akaashi thought that focusing on the present wasn’t enough to solve the dilemma they suddenly had in their hands. He didn’t rule out that someone from Gryffindor or Hufflepuff could had done it, but considering the competitive environment that enveloped the teams once the championship began, he didn’t rule out the possibility that anyone would have done so in order to get their house consecrated as the tournament champion.

"So you're saying that it's likely that someone from Slytherin has done it.”

“What is it with my house?” They both heard suddenly.

And the two couldn’t help but be in a certain way of defense when they spotted Kuroo. 

* * *

"It never crossed my mind to think you could have done it, but I dismiss you anyway because your silence makes it clear that it wasn’t you." Akaashi said.

"Oh, thank you darling, I feel fortunate that your analytical mind has ruled me out of being the culprit." Kuroo mentioned, giving him a false smile to which the Ravenclaw didn’t react.

While he was standing, Kuroo had taken place in one of the benches of one of the castle's many inner gardens although the Ravenclaw captain hadn’t liked the fact the Slytherin had appeared to interrupt his conversation with Ennoshita, since it meant that he could have listened to them from the beginning or that any other person had also been close enough to hear them, so he considered changing places a good idea. The winter weather frightened most of the students, so only the two of them were in that garden, since in addition, Akaashi knew that Ennoshita wouldn’t be able to contain his typical comments as Kuroo wouldn’t doubt to use his provocative personality as well as his sarcasm against him just like he did with him, so he didn’t hesitate to kick his best friend out so that he could deal and chat with the Slytherin alone.

He didn’t considered it a bad idea to tell Kuroo what happened, not only because he wanted to study his reactions as he told him what happened, but also to dismiss him as a possible person causing the problem, and after he told him the problem at which Kuroo reacted being sarcastic and smiling to him even though Akaashi's serious face didn’t changed, the Slytherin finally lowered his eyes on the little grass that remained, and let out a sigh.

"And to think I was looking for you so we could talk," He mentioned.

Akaashi raised an eyebrow at the sound of it, and sat beside him, somewhat apart.

“Talk about what?”

“The owl that I have for best friend may be a fool sometimes and most of his ideas doesn’t make sense, but I must admit that I wasn’t at all displeased when he joined the four of us so that you could help me with the topic of the captaincy,” He started to say, referring to the time when Bokuto had called the boy with him and Daichi so they could give him advice on how to lead his own team. “And since we're both team captains, and we both lost our first game, I figured it would be good to chat. But with what you have told me, now it’s clear that I lost because I don’t know how to be a captain, whereas you lost because someone else wanted you to do it.”

Akaashi looked at him askance, thinking that as he had mentioned to Ennoshita before, most of the time he knew how to analyze the situations that were presented to him.

“I would like to give you the reason. And it would be so convenient for me to take advantage of this moment to lower your mood considering that in the next match we will be rivals." Kuroo was surprised to hear him speak with such honesty, although at the same time no because he knew the boy sitting next to him was one of those who preferred to watch you seriously while they judged you with their eyes, instead of holding a fake smile. “But I'm not that kind of person, and the fact that the keeper of my team has been enchanted to become a disadvantage, doesn’t change that we lost anyway. I didn’t give my best effort either. I even questioned whether I should remain as captain.”

The one belonging to Slytherin smiled sideways when he heard him.

"I know that this is due to a certain totally noisy person we both know." He said, making the sixth-year look at him even if he chose to remain silent. “I don’t think you should question your position in the team just because you lost a game," He added.

“Then why do you do the same with you?”

Kuroo remained stunned. Akaashi hadn’t mentioned the last words of his previous sentences because he wanted to share with him what was going through his head, but because he really didn’t consider himself a bad person, and didn’t see the sense in competing against a team whose leader didn’t believe in himself. And also because he wanted to get the victory by playing clean and not resting obtaining the cup in manipulations and deceptions.

"It's easier said than done." The older of the two said.

“I don’t deny it.”

Both remained silent.

Kuroo was still totally concerned about the idea of playing another quidditch game that seemed to be closer with each passing day. The fact that everyone had turned their attention to Hufflepuff's recent match against Ravenclaw didn’t take away the fact that the sixth-year players of his own team were still not showing up for practice, and that they had players to replace them, even though he didn’t want to because he knew that those of a year younger than him had real skills to get the team to win and break the losing streak that had accompanied them since the championship had begun. He didn’t want to lose another game, and he knew that the boy next to him either, so the pressure on his shoulders only increased. He was aware that Akaashi had a brilliant mind and a great ability to devise strategies that he couldn’t even imagine, so he considered it normal to be nervous to know that trying to defeat his next opponent was more difficult than what it looked like, since unlike those who underestimated Akaashi as captain, he didn’t.

“Why haven’t you said anything to Coach Ukai?” He decided to ask him.

“And be the person who made the Quidditch tournament be paused? Or even cancelled?”

Akaashi shook his head, and Kuroo understood.

Any student who had more than two neurons wouldn’t hesitate to point to the Ravenclaw as the guilty that made the tournament come to an end after only having started in case he decided to speak with one of the adults.

“I understand that the people of my house seem the best to accuse, but tell your vice-captain not to go around looking for a fight with my players or with my housemates.“ Kuroo inquired after having felt the look of rejection Ennoshita gave him before he left. “Anyone could have been. People who are not from my house. I will help you try to solve the problem as long as you don’t seek to confront Slytherin outside the stadium.”

They both stared at each other. For each one there was no doubt as to why the other had been elected captain.

“Fine, I will try that few people find out. And I hope you do the same." Akaashi said.

Kuroo nodded.

The two who promptly ceased to be gathered in one of the inner gardens of the castle, were satisfied with the exchange of words between them. Akaashi didn’t regret having told him about Kunimi, and although there wasn’t necessarily a friendship between the two, he was glad that the Slytherin had approached him with the intention of chatting about both occupying the same position in their respective teams. While for his part, Kuroo hadn’t hesitated to approach him not only because he had been able to see what happened with Bokuto during the match, but because he had also wanted to speak honestly with Akaashi about the two being captains of the teams that lost in the first round of games. Only to finish learning, also, that someone could be influencing the results of the matches, deciding to start by nagging Ravenclaw first.

He stopped when he thought he recognized the blond who was sitting near the fountain in the courtyard of the Clock Tower, since he remembered him after having seen him play in the game, because he was playing in the same position as him, as well as also because he didn’t seem to have wanted to be one of the starting players, or at least that was what he had implied with his performance in the match.

He didn’t know why, but he soon found himself in front of him.

The blond looked up to see who had interrupted his moment alone.

"I talked with your captain," Kuroo told him, not knowing why, since he didn’t even talk with Akaashi about their respective players.

Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at him, wondering when the captain of his team had conversations with the captain of the Slytherin team.

“And?”

Had Akaashi sent him to talk to him?

"We play in the same position," Kuroo chose to say.

The blond had believed that Akaashi had sent him just for that reason.

"Yes, I already knew."

Because as Kuroo had observed him, Tsukishima had observed him in the first match of the tournament, although there was no person in Hogwarts who didn’t know the name or knew about the abilities of the Slytherin captain, as well the problems he was currently facing with the people from his own team.

"Another observant Ravenclaw, I'm not surprised," The seventh-year said.

He wasn’t surprised that he had told him that he knew they both occupied the same position, not because he had attended the first game, but because he believed that everyone in the house led by an eagle was extremely attentive.

“Other annoying Slytherin, I'm not surprised.”

“Auch,” Kuroo put both hands on his chest, “My poor heart." He winced.

“You don’t have a heart.”

“How could you know if you don’t either?”

While Tsukishima formed a grimace of disgust because finally someone responded with the same sarcasm and irony with which he usually developed, Kuroo smiled in an entertaining way because he knew that the blond didn’t expected him to be equally ingenious when speaking.

"Are you going player by player to make sure we don’t think you were the one to charm Kunimi?” The blond asked.

The one belonging to Slytherin raised an eyebrow as his smirk disappeared from his face.

“How do you know about Kunimi?” He asked him.

“Apparently I can ask you the same question.”

Their eyes met for a second.

"Your captain." Kuroo answered at his own question.

“Kunimi.”

Both were surprised to hear each other.

After Kunimi decided to tell them why he seemed to be more serious than usual, both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi felt that it was a good idea for the second of them to return to his common room instead of continuing to stay in a bedroom in their house because although Kunimi didn’t accuse him with his eyes or with his words, a growing tension had begun to decorate the environment around them, so Yamaguchi ceased to be the third to be present in that room, and Tsukishima opted for spending some time alone after lunch. Although his moment to be only with his thoughts was interrupted by the one who at that moment placed his hands at the sides of his own waist and watched him.

“Don't go over there talking about it. Akaashi has asked me the same." He stated.

The blond remained silent at the request, but was forced to continue talking with him when he noticed that he wasn’t left alone.

“Anything else?” He asked.

“You indeed are stiff.”

“Guilty.”

Kuroo smiled amused.

“I could help you, if you want. Give you advice for the next game.”

“You do realize that our houses will face each other in the next match, right?”

“I know I suck at being captain. But I still consider myself a very good beater.”

The fifth-year watched him carefully. He didn’t inspire him confidence and he didn’t understand why he wanted to help him when their houses would be rivals the next time they played a game. Tsukishima thought that those belonging to the Slytherin house weren’t to his liking, although he usually didn’t trust anyone, sometimes not even his own self. But he also had to accept that the one in front of him was considered a great beater and he could take advantage of the fact that he seemed willing to share with him his knowledge of the position they shared.

“Tsukishima,” He murmured.

“What?”

He snorted, annoyed. "My name is Tsukishima, Tsukishima Kei." He introduced himself.

“Kuroo Tetsurou,” The other one said along with his typical smirk.

And once again, the Ravenclaw already knew that too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Small alliances can happen in the least expected moments.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I slept 4 hours because I had a 9 am class YES, ON A SATURDAY that should be illegal and what's more, it rained and I had to walk a lot so basically it was a shitty day but hey at least I got a ten NO SLEEPING AND STRESSING SEEMS TO BE FINE

Although the weekend was over and the students were again engulfed in classes and homework to be done and finished, the subject that still surrounded the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses hadn’t been taken away with the two days off. Nothing had prevented more people from continuing to learn about what had happened, and by the start of the week, all players from both teams of the houses whose match had been played over the weekend, were aware of what happened during the same. Both Bokuto and Konoha had approached Akaashi and Ennoshita to talk to them and reassure them that no member of their team had been involved, although the two from Ravenclaw mentioned that they had already dismissed them as possible causes of the problem. Kuroo was still the only Slytherin, apart from Kindaichi, to know about it, because although Kuroo trusted and knew that he could rest his confidence in Oikawa, he would tell Iwaizumi, and therefore, everyone would end up knowing before he could foresee it, so he had chosen to keep quiet and make sure that his best friend didn’t say anything, since he was aware that it was more likely that all Hogwarts students would find out about what happened because Bokuto couldn’t keep his mouth shut instead of other reason, though fortunately, Akaashi had also chosen to hold a serious conversation with the Hufflepuff captain because he was equally aware of his tendency to shout everything and speak without hindrance.

No one from Gryffindor knew about what happened, and those from other houses who did know, planned that to continue in the same way since they didn’t need more students to continue to get involved in the matter, much less that the problem reach the ears of teachers.

Ennoshita knew who was aware of the problem and who was not, and for that very reason, several minutes ago he was observing Yahaba. The one belonging to Slytherin was sitting at one of the tables in the library totally immersed in the books that were left in front of him, so he hadn’t noticed that the black-haired boy was watching him for fifteen minutes, wondering if approaching him was the best option or not. The one belonging to Ravenclaw had spent too much time talking about it with his roommates, and although they had determined that they wouldn’t blame anyone until they could get some clue to guide them to the culprit, Ennoshita couldn’t stop thinking and feeling that those belonging to Slytherin were related to the matter, not only because they were their next rivals and generally generated distrust, but because he knew that the one seated in the library, like the other sixth-year students who belonged to the Quidditch team, continued to be absent in the practices and anyway being chosen like titular players, reason why if they didn’t worry about their own house, then there was no obstacle that prevented them from interfering with the other houses.

Ennoshita knew that his brain wouldn’t betray him and he would remain calm, but as he decided to approach the Slytherin member to sit in front of him, he also took into account that the one who was now in front of him was also able to cope with cunning.

Yahaba took a deep breath when he saw him.

"In case you didn’t know, some of us try to do well in the subjects," He said, closing the book in front of him, knowing that the one who had just appeared wouldn’t hesitate to distract him from his study time. “What do you come for, to speak loser to loser? It seems that now the only thing we have in common besides detesting each other is that we lost the first game.”

However, instead of responding sarcastically or superiorly as always, Ennoshita remained silent for a few seconds staring at him as he had been doing for several seconds, which made Yahaba raise an eyebrow at not hearing his voice expressing some wordiness that would get him irritated.

“I'll be direct. And I hope you don’t lie to me.” Ennoshita finally spoke.

He hoped not to make a mistake because he knew that Akaashi would be angry with him if he did so while the Slytherin continued to be increasingly intrigued by whatever it was that was making the one in front of him stay serious instead of holding up his typical annoying smile.

“Someone hexed Kunimi so he couldn’t do his duty as keeper during the game.”

He really hoped not to make the worst mistake by mentioning those words aloud.

“It was you?” He asked.

Everyone who knew about the matter had agreed not to talk to other people or continue increasing the number of students who did know about the problem, and the confidence of all his team and even more those of his best friends, and specifically, his captain, remained on his shoulders, so he hoped not to have been confused by adding one more person. He had been thinking about it during the weekend, and even though one of his favorite pastimes was bothering him, the one who at that moment stared at him without reacting in any specific way, had turned out to be a potential cause of the problem.

But Ennoshita arched an eyebrow as he remained confused when he watched Yahaba store his book in his backpack and get up.

“Of course Slytherins will always be the ones to blame.” It was all he said before he left.

Although his face was severe, his annoyed tone of voice made it clear that the question, and therefore the accusation made by the Ravenclaw, who remained alone at the library table, wasn’t of his liking at all, since Yahaba didn’t hesitate to make his absence something visible, making Ennoshita wonder if he should consider his words as a justified reaction, or as a way to avoid him, and if he had made a fatal mistake, or made a possible discovery. Although he didn’t have time to think about it since he was again accompanied.

“Again bothering Yahaba?” Tanaka asked, standing in front of him, for he had seen the Slytherin leave the library with a face too serious even to be him, and guessed the reason as soon as he saw Ennoshita. “Now what happened?”

The one belonging to Ravenclaw seemed to stop being immersed in his thoughts after a few seconds.

“Nothing.” Was the only thing he answered.

Tanaka knew that something was happening, but he didn’t push it anyway.

"I wanted to talk to you," He mentioned instead.

“Why?” Ennoshita asked confused.

The one belonging to Ravenclaw was so focused on the matter regarding one of the players of his own team, that his body didn’t react in the same way as all the previous times when he was together with the one belonging to Gryffindor. He wasn’t nervous, and he realized that he hadn’t exchanged words with him since the other time he had appeared after he had been bothering Yahaba himself, just as on that occasion. And he remembered that he had treated him in a moderately disinterested manner, so he was surprised when Tanaka answered his question.

“I wanted to know how you are. I didn’t have the opportunity to ask you after the game.”

An involuntary smile appeared on Ennoshita's face, but he didn’t hesitate to be serious again as soon as he realized that. The absence of nerves lasted little, and his body seemed to be delighted with the idea of reminding him that his feelings for the boy next to him hadn’t disappeared either, nor the discomfort he felt because his feelings were unrequited. His conversation with Akaashi beginning to cloud his thoughts.

"You practically disappeared after the game," Tanaka added, giving him a soft kick on his leg.

“I had it justified, don’t you think?”

“A lost match is not the end of the championship.”

“I know, but it still sucks to have lost.”

“It happens to you for not having accepted my advice,” The Gyrffindor expressed smiling sideways. Ennoshita only reacted by rolling his eyes although a small smile made its way into his face. “Do you want us to walk for a while? It could clear your head," Tanaka suggested, “And so I could give you my advice," He added on purpose, still smiling.

Ennoshita didn’t forget that he was angry at him because he didn’t reciprocate his feelings and that even those same ones were directed towards a girl from his own house, just as he didn’t forget that he had probably made a mistake by being sincere with Yahaba when he asked him if he had anything to do with what happened with Kunimi. Not to mention that he could already imagine Akaashi scolding him for increasing the number of people who knew about the issue when they had agreed that they would try to make sure nobody else found out, and therefore making him sleep out of the room or running more laps during training as well as loading all the brooms of those who belonged to the team that the two coordinated. He considered that he had already made enough mistakes for that day, so nothing would happen if he added one more.

"Sure," He agreed. 

* * *

 

Just as those belonging to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had agreed among themselves not to talk about it with anyone who was not aware of the matter, Kuroo had had a similar conversation with Kindaichi, although it had cost him to approach the fifth-year because even though they were in the same team, they weren’t close and Kindaichi was still the one who had chosen to call Oikawa as captain instead of him even if it hadn’t been on purpose, so the nerves of the fifth-year to be alone with Kuroo and therefore, thinking that he would retaliate with him for what happened in the first practice, hadn’t helped the seventh-year to talk quietly with him, until the younger of the two understood that he wanted to talk to him about what happened to his best friend. And although that moment served to bring both of them closer, and Kindaichi understood that Kuroo was looking for answers as well as Kuroo felt that Kindaichi did want him as captain even though he had a closer relationship with Oikawa, they couldn’t think who could have thought who that person might have been in annoying Kunimi, and therefore the rest of those belonging to Ravenclaw.

Kuroo looked away from the book in front of him as from the corner of his eye, he glimpsed that someone had sat next to him at the table in his house in the Great Hall. Since the game versus Gryffindor, and therefore, the first defeat of Slytherin in the championship, some people from his own house didn’t hesitate to give him glances that expressed nothing but resentment because they didn’t doubt to blame him for the lost match. He had expected Oikawa to be the one to approach because he had somehow learned about what happened with Kunimi, since he had spoken with Kindaichi and hadn’t taken away the possibility that those two spoke considering how close they were; that Kindaichi himself had opted for approaching him to speak again, that Bokuto had appeared although he usually did so in a more reckless and noisy way, or that even, Yahaba or Futakuchi had finally chosen to approach him to explain what was happening.

In his head had been the possibility that several people had chosen to approach him, but under no circumstances had he expected that the one who at that time left his book of Advanced Potions on the table, was nothing less than Akaashi, who only gave him a sideways glance before opening the book.

"I thought we had some kind of agreed-upon deal," Kuroo said once the surprise at his sudden companionship provoked him, and he rested his eyes on the essay he was preparing.

“What are you talking about?” Akaashi asked not sounding curious, and also seemed not interested after turning the pages of the book in front of him until he reached the indicated section.

“The Ravenclaw table is yours and Kiyoko's. Slytherin is mine and Oikawa’s," The older one explained, resting his flume on the ink jar. “I thought we had some silent agreement in which no one would try to draw attention to another table, because as you should know, several people are after us.”

Kuroo held a big, amused smirk on his face when Akaashi gave him a serious look, making him understand that he had figured out that he had referred to the fact that they had graceful facial features that many wanted to admire up close. Lips that several people wished to kiss with theirs, eyes that many imagined to cross with theirs, and skin that the majority longed to caress with their fingers.

"I won’t say anything good about you if that's what you're looking for," The Ravenclaw said before returning to rest his eyes on the book.

"Well, I think you're pretty smart," Kuroo inquired anyway, and took advantage of his words to cast a sidelong glance at the section where Akaashi had opened his book to verify that he intended to read about Eternal Elixirs. “I didn’t know you were good at Potions, I thought you were advanced in Charms."

“Delighted that you run out of competition?” Akaashi didn’t hesitate to express after having sighted that he was doing an essay on Charms. “Try don’t to, I'm also advanced in Charms," He rested his eyes on him, and Kuroo held a fake smile when he noticed that the curves of Akaashi's mouth rose in sign of being entertained with his own words. “But I'm having problems with Potions.”

“Huh? Then you passively approached me for me to give you my help. Didn’t you?” Again Kuroo was the one to smirk in a satisfied way when with his words, he managed to make Ravenclaw cast a serious look at him.

“Why would I if you are only advanced in Spells?”

“Because you being in Ravenclaw and I in Slytherin doesn’t take away that I still have a great intelligence,” Kuroo replied without a trace of arrogance in his words, and Akaashi barely turned to the side when the Slytherin stretched his neck to read the pages he had pretended to read. “You have problems because you trust the theory too much," He said, and although Akaashi raised an eyebrow at the sound of him, he was certainly intrigued when Kuroo opted to take his flume to cross out one of the instructions of the elixirs with it. “Don’t worry, I'm not ruining your book. You can erase it later if you want," He added, although he had begun to write over the line he had crossed out, knowing that Akaashi was interposing his eyes between him and his book, but not observing him reproachfully for having written on one of the pages. “You must also have experience and practice to get the best results.”

When he broke away holding a true smile on his face instead of a vain smirk, Akaashi glanced at him before resting his eyes on his book, reading what he had written on it.

“But there it says two acacia branches. Why did you write three orchid petals?”

"Because you must make mistakes to learn." Kuroo tapped Akaashi’s forehead with his flume, which in reality only resulted in a rose after that being soft, and he put it back on the jar. “I was only in some classes, but I remember that it was frustrating not being able to make the potion work for us, until we started to experiment to have fun, and we discovered that the orchid petals work better.”

Akaashi raised an eyebrow, that being his way of showing that the data had been interesting, and again rested his eyes on the book as if at that precise moment he was learning the new information for future classes. “Thank you.” He expressed, certainly demonstrating that he appreciated the gesture.

“Did you want to sit with me because your vice-captain is not present, and because you want to make it clear that you don’t think against Slytherin when you think about what happened with Kunimi?” Kuroo asked him, because although he wasn’t surprised anymore, he continued thinking of the reason of the presence of Akaashi by his side, since although they knew each other since the Ravenclaw was in first year and therefore himself in second year, that time probably was the first one that Akaashi approached him by his own motive and not because Bokuto had dragged one of the two.

“And to think I was looking for you so we could talk,” Was the only thing Akaashi mentioned before releasing an exaggerated sigh, which only made Kuroo hold an intrigued smile on his face because the same gesture added a tint of curiosity to the words he had copied him, since he had mentioned exactly the same when he had approached to speak with him.

“Talk about what?” He asked, choosing to imitate the answer the Ravenclaw had given him that time.

"Maybe... it's not..." Akaashi looked around them, seeming to want to speak but at the same time refusing to say the words out loud. “Maybe it's not a bad idea for us to talk because our teams were the ones to lose the first games." He decided to expressed, and rolled his eyes as soon as he rested his gaze on Kuroo only to see him extremely entertaining because he had just agreed with him as well as saying that his ideas, at least one of them, was good, okay at most.

“How are you feeling?”

Akaashi once again rested his eyes on the Slytherin, although this time to continue observing him when instead of a smirk of annoyance, he only saw honest concern and interest in both his tone of voice as in his facial expression.

“The feeling of annoyance just doesn’t go away. Does it?”

Kuroo simply held a small smile at the same time he hummed shortly, and chose to turn his body to stay watching the side of the one sitting near him, as well as he chose to rest his elbow on the table and one side of his face against the palm of his hand as he watched Akaashi, who continued to observe him.

"Not a week went by, give yourself time." He said.

“But more than a week has passed and you're still upset.”

“I think our cases are different.”

“I think you feel it would be good if what happened with Kunimi only turns out to be a joke, because you still believe that I lost because someone hexed him, while you because you think you don’t know how to be a captain. But we both lost, beyond everything.”

"I'm afraid of our confrontation, Akaashi, and I think you too." Kuroo expressed.

“Then if you know that like you, I fear our next confrontation within the field of quidditch, also, in some corner of your head mixed with a dubious amount of bedhair," Kuroo arched an eyebrow when momentarily Akaashi's eyes slid to his tangled black hair, "You must think that in the end you are a good captain, because otherwise I wouldn’t be afraid of you nor your team. And if you are afraid of me, it’s because of my way of getting around, and by the players that make up my team, and not because you are not able to face me as a captain.”

"For being my next rival and someone who usually despises me, you want to inflate my ego too much," Kuroo told him, because through his words, the Ravenclaw only made it clear that he feared his way of thinking as much as he feared his.

“I don’t inflate your ego, you inflate it yourself.”

The Slytherin gave a false laugh. "You didn’t deny despising me," He pointed out. 

“I don’t see the point in lying.”

Kuroo interposed his gaze between his lips and his eyes and then narrowed his eyes slightly as he formed an amused smile with his lips when he saw that a corner of Akaashi's mouth lifted, indicating that this was his way of annoying him.

"I just hope that when we beat you, you won’t be too hard with yourself because one of my beaters will use your own advices against you." Akaashi added before resting his eyes on his book, smiling inwardly because Kuroo immediately gave a faint surprise gasp when he heard him.

“Annoyed that I spend time with your players?” He asked him, since apparently Tsukishima had already informed his captain about the fact that he had suggested that they both practice together because they were both beaters, and that that was more important than the fact of belonging to different houses.

“While you don’t do it as a kind of reward or apology after feeling guilty for being the one who bewitched Kunimi, then you're free to spend time with my players.” Akaashi commented, and Kuroo rolled his eyes, but then looked back at him with a sideways smile in his face, finding himself amused after learning that the Ravenclaw could speak the same language of sarcasm and irony, although he had always suspected that maybe they weren't so different.

“You know I didn’t do it.”

"I know," Akaashi assured him.

“You only approached me to let me know that you know I spend time with one of your beaters, and in that way make it clear that you know everything that happens around you even if you are not present?”

“I didn’t realize that someone hexed the keeper of my own team in a game in which I was present. As much as I would like to thank the praise hidden in your words, I can’t accept it." Akaashi stated totally serious, as well as his tone of voice.

“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself.” Kuroo didn’t hesitate to say as soon as he understood that the Ravenclaw was blaming himself for not realizing that someone had messed with his team in front of his own eyes.

“That's something I don’t know how to do,” Akaashi expressed holding a smile a bit false but also honest.

“You know, instead of bothering me because as you think, you will win us and therefore an apprentice of mine will have won me, I will enjoy my time bothering you when they give you an excellent qualification for approving Advanced Potions after the help I have given you,” Kuroo told him to try to cheer him up, and grinned as the Ravenclaw watched him. “Maybe I'll even make you accept out loud that I'm smarter than you.”

"I'll just accept that you're smarter than me in case you find out who was the one who bewitched Kunimi before me," Akaashi assured him, and despite the problems involved, Kuroo smiled sideways.

“Are you implying a competition between us besides Quidditch, Ravenclaw?”

"No, Slytherin. I'm just making it clear that we, Ravenclaws, are not proud and therefore know when and how to accept when we need help and when we do not, just like when we think it's better to unite brains, than to stay apart.”

“Then you're implying that I'm smart.”

"No more than me," Akaashi chose to say in order not to accept his words and therefore not raise the size of his ego, nor give them for denials because although perhaps he hadn’t said it so directly, he believed that the boy next to him was extremely intelligent.

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

Akaashi just let out a silent sigh before again turning his eyes to his book, and Kuroo smiled sideways before opting to roll up his scroll and then get up, getting the Ravenclaw to rest his eyes on him again.

"Concentrate on your studies instead of what happened during the game, and I'll do the opposite," He expressed looking at him. “After all, two brains are better than one, aren’t they?” He kept a smile on his face as soon as Akaashi rolled his eyes when he heard him, and Kuroo didn’t doubt to wink at him and then retire from the Great Hall.

He wasn’t sure what to think accurately about what happened with Kunimi, but he did believe that discovering who was the culprit meant to use a lot of his time concentrating and not letting himself be carried away by the stereotypes that surrounded the houses, because as well as many didn’t hesitate to point at him with their finger after accusing him of being the reason why they had lost against Gryffindor, he knew that in the same way, many thought of Slytherin as the people who created the most number of troubles, but he was satisfied that at least the captain of Ravenclaw wasn’t one of those people.

Until without looking for, he remained as disappointed as surprised when he realized that the new competition that he had begun with Akaashi to see who discovered the culprit first, had ended as fast as it had started, because although he thought he could consecrate victory for himself, he couldn’t give all the credit to himself.

"I just lied to Ennoshita," He heard when he found himself near the common room of his house.

He immediately recognized Yahaba's voice and was thankful that he hadn’t been walking fast enough to be able to stay behind the corner where both corridors were joined so his presence wouldn’t be exposed.

"I don’t care," He also recognized Futakuchi's voice.

Nothing disturbing had been mentioned, but as soon as he heard those words, Kuroo knew that a new problem was in his hands, and he shook his head as he rolled his eyes for the same reason.

“Futakuchi, if they find out I-“

"They won’t," The other cut him. “Besides, why do you seem so worried about Ennoshita? Since when do you care about what he thinks?”

“Shut the hell up.”

The Slytherin Quidditch team captain knew that the conversation between the two ended when he heard footsteps going to the other side of the corridor, and he avoided hitting the wall on which his back was rested only to not attract the attention of those two who he had listened talking.

He had expected the sixth-year duo to have nothing to do with it.

He had hoped that no one in his house would have been involved.

He had hoped that all the unspoken allegations against Slytherin of the others wouldn't be true.

And yet, all his thoughts focused on a single detail that captured his attention after repeating the conversation he had just heard in his head. He had listened the name of the vice-captain of the Ravenclaw team, as well as the reason why he hadn’t seen him in the Great Hall with Akaashi, who apparently, would have to accept that he was the smartest one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't get me wrong, bokuaka will always be my otp, but kuroaka has a little place in my heart
> 
> Next chapter: Daichi matches the tone of his cheeks with the color of his house.


	35. Chapter 35

Ennoshita was angry with himself for not being able to talk to Akaashi about the walk he had taken along with Tanaka the previous day, since talking about it involved mentioning that the Gryffindor had approached him in the library only because he had first approached to Yahaba to mention the problem with Kunimi, and even dare to ask him if he had been the one to enchant him. But he didn’t regret having done it. Of agreeing to spend his time with Tanaka, as well as having asked the question to the Slytherin.

However, he felt that it wasn’t fair on his part to have another person learn about what had happened in the game when he had promised not to open his mouth, so he decided to repair that fault by doing something that would be convenient for his best friend, good enough so that Akaashi wouldn’t get completely mad at him when he found out that he had opened his mouth with Yahaba. Which explained why he was getting closer to the Hufflepuff’s quidditch team captain who was currently throwing up the quaffle up and down in one of the castle's inner gardens, while other students around him continued with their own routines, although Bokuto stopped throwing the ball and hold it up on his chest as soon as he saw him.

"I swear I haven’t told anyone." He expressed before the Ravenclaw could even say anything.

Ennoshita would have giggled because it was funny that Bokuto thought he had only approached him to make sure he hadn’t opened his mouth, when in fact he had done it himself, so he simply smiled out of politeness.

“I wanted to talk to you about something else. More like someone.”

“Someone?” The seventh-year tilted his head, “Do you already know who did it?”

He wished he could answer that question with an affirmation.

“No, but I wanted to talk to you about Akaashi.”

“Akaashi betrayed his own team?!”

After uttering those words, Bokuto wondered if Akaashi had really been the one to betray his own team after having enchanted the guardian of his own team, and if for the same reason he had spotted him talking with Kuroo in the Great Hall, wondering if he had sat by his side to assure him that the subject had therefore come to an end. Although, then, that meant that Akaashi would also soon approach him too, and that he had first approached the Slytherin captain instead of him.

Ennoshita covered Bokuto's mouth as soon as he released that shout that attracted the attention of some around them, and then let out a big sigh before removing his hands from his mouth. “No, I wanted to talk about what happened in the game. Not about Kunimi," He said, lowering his voice at the end of the sentence, while Bokuto watched him having understand that Akaashi had then approached Kuroo for another reason. “Me screaming at you for Akaashi. Sorry by the way, I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you the way I did.”

“It's fine, I guess.”

Bokuto seemed to lower ten levels of energy as soon as he heard him.

"I just think you should start measuring your words," Ennoshita opted to say.

Although Ennoshita was clear with his words, and his stern look contributed so that the seventh-year could witness the seriousness the boy before him scattered, Bokuto tilted his head to observe him with a slight frown and an expression of confusion.

“Do you have a rule?” He asked.

“What?”

“I don’t have one and you said I have to measure my words.”

Ennoshita wouldn’t have hesitated to hit him in the head in the case of being someone else, more as he knew that Bokuto was special in his own way, so he just sighed before trying another strategy, because he didn’t want to give up on the idea of compensating his error, and in the process, making Akaashi see that he was the wrong one.

“What I mean is that you should watch what you say with caution.”

“I didn’t know words could be seen. You can make that kind of spell?”

The one belonging to Ravenclaw hit his own face with both hands. Wanting to help his best friend could be more difficult than he had thought. However, he was sure of something, and that was that the guy in front of him liked Akaashi.

“Bokuto, you don’t want someone to hurt Akaashi, right?” He asked him.

“I would kill anyone who dared to hurt him!” He exclaimed, frowning.

The sixth-year smiled after finally making himself understood. “And why?”

“Because I don’t like to see him sad.”

“You don’t like to see Kuroo sad either.”

“I don’t like to see anyone sad. But Akaashi much less. I don’t like to know that someone did him wrong or hurt him. He doesn’t deserve it.” He said, his mind returning to the fact that he had seen them both talking in the Great Hall after Ennoshita had mentioned the name of the Slytherin captain.

"And you would do anything to make him be okay, wouldn’t you?" Bokuto nodded rampantly. “And how do you know when Akaashi is sad or happy? It’s not easy to realize that he could be suffering and not prove anything, or that he could also be more than happy and not smile, no matter how happy he is.”

“Because he’s Akaashi. He doesn’t need to do all of that. I know what he feels even if he doesn’t show it.”

“What if I told you that recently someone has been hurting him by telling him that his inexpression is obvious?” He asked.

“I would look for them and tell them not to do it anymore!”

“Well, you won’t have to look for them, because that someone is you.”

Bokuto remained totally disoriented when he heard him mention those words, which turned out to be totally true. Because although Akaashi wasn’t the most obvious person, Ennoshita had managed to understand how his friend felt after observing him in the years of friendship they had. Sometimes silence was more effective than an expression or a couple of words together.

“Akaashi hasn’t stopped thinking about all the words you've said to him since we started classes. You tell him to express himself more and you never know what goes on in his head because he doesn’t smile when he is happy, because he doesn’t frown when he is annoyed, and because he doesn’t pout his lips or let his eyes water when he is sad. But I know him, Bokuto, and your words affect him so much that I can’t understand. He never lets others thoughts and words affect him, but when it comes to you, it happens. You are the only one who has an impact on him, and you are wasting it by hurting him. Haven’t you thought how he might feel after you told him he never shows his feelings?”

Sometimes Bokuto could take a long time to understand what they were talking about or the point people wanted to reach when they had a conversation with him, but at that moment Ennoshita had been efficient and clear enough to make the bicolor-haired boy remained totally serious after hearing the worst words he could ever have heard. Not that the Quidditch tournament had been cancelled, that they had kicked him out of the team or that they would replace him in the next game, that the teachers had decided to double the number of exams, or that someone had broken his broom. But that he had hurt Akaashi, and imagining Akaashi having a bad moment that only happened to be thanks to him, was enough for him to lose any trace of a smile. He wanted to make Akaashi happy, not hurt him. He wanted to be the one to take care of the harmful words of others, not to be the one that enunciate them.

He formed a line with his lips when he wondered if Akaashi had actually approached Kuroo to complain about him.

“I... Did I.." Ennoshita watched him intently, realizing the change in his tone of voice, "Did I hurt Akaashi?” Bokuto asked him, his voice betraying him, his face completely serious and his eyes without having its characteristic brightness.

Sometimes he had been at the right time to listen to some people comment among them that they didn't understood how despite being a good player, he had been chosen to be the captain of the team when he didn't possesed a great intelligence. And while he had never allowed those sort of words to infiltrate his thoughts, he himself would begin to think he was a fool if he had been hurting Akaashi when his intention had never been that.

Ennoshita didn't want the older one's face to continue without its typical animated smile, nor did his personality seem to be replaced by another, but he wouldn't find another way to make Akaashi understand that his feelings were reciprocal, unless he was totally clear and Bokuto understood what he had done. 

"Yes." He answered with determination. “And I know you're the person who would least like to do it, so next time you cross paths with him, tell him all the reasons why you like him. I know you didn't want your words to hurt him and that you only want what's best for him, but if you like Akaashi, then there's nothing he needs to change. Right?”

Bokuto nodded quickly. For him, Akaashi didn't need to change anything at all about him. He liked to see him be completely serious because he was thinking, reading a book, or simply because that was his typical expression; or see him holding a small smile on his face or hiding his lips behind his hand to prevent his soft laughter to be heard or his smile observed. For him, Akaashi was perfect from head to toe, and he didn't have to change anything about him for Bokuto to think that he was the most beautiful and most interesting boy he had ever laid his eyes and his attention on.

“How do you know I like Akaashi?” He asked Ennoshita.

The Ravenclaw simply smiled. It wasn’t because he was an observant person or because Bokuto's personality was based on demonstrating his emotions without hindrance, or because someone else had told him or a rumor had begun to revolve in his class. Ennoshita knew that Bokuto liked his best friend because there was no person who loved Akaashi as much as he did. He even accepted that Bokuto possibly care for Akaashi even more than he did.

“Because if you're not the one who likes him, then who else could it be?”

“I don’t want anyone else to like Akaashi!” He exclaimed, alarmed at the thought of someone being very close to the mentioned one.

"Then make sure you treat him well." Ennoshita crossed his arms and puffed his chest out. “Or you'll have to start competing with me for Akaashi." He added deliberately, achieving the result he wanted as Bokuto puffed up his cheeks and pointed him out clearly.

"I will never hand you over to Akaashi, Ennoshita, not you or anyone! I am the only one who will be with him! I am the only person who will treat him well and never hurt him again!” He shouted more than decided.

And Ennoshita could only smile enthusiastically before Bokuto ran to the opposite side.

"My work is done," He said rubbing his hands as if he had been doing and intense exercise during the last time, or was getting ride of the dirty of his palms. “Everyone should call me Ennoshita Cupid Chikara.”

After having hoped to get the fate of his closest friend began to change from that day thanks to the conversation he had had with the boy who was obsessed with him, he undoubtedly began to think about his own problems. He wanted to believe himself the possessor of arrows with points of heart only because he had helped change the course of Akaashi's fortune, when reality was that he could barely handle himself when it came to controlling his own thoughts.

He couldn’t deny that he had had a great time walking around with Tanaka, but his smile was replaced by a small tightening of lips as soon as he remembered his feelings weren’t reciprocal.

Well, Cupid was never shown with a partner.

“Cupid with everyone. Less with myself," He added along with a sad smile on his face.

* * *

Like many first-year ones, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi followed Bokuto with their eyes as he continued running at great speed down the corridor until he disappeared on the other.

“Why was your captain running and exclaiming mine’s name without stopping?” The taller of the two inquired, since the Hufflepuff hadn’t stopped repeating the name of the one who commanded the Ravenclaw quidditch team as he had moved down the aisle in a hurry.

"I don’t know, he always does it," Yamaguchi answered, being used to hearing Bokuto express Akaashi's name in that way, just like probably the rest of the students at Hogwarts.

They both exchanged glances and shrugged at the same time.

“Anyway, what was it you were saying?” Asked the one who belonged to the same house as the crazy one with two-colored hair.

“I have an idea that maybe could kill two birds with one stone.”

The two who since Sunday could already be considered an official couple, were chatting in one of the corridors taking advantage of the fact that both had to attend the same classes that day, and that therefore they could use the time they had between the subjects to talk, having Tsukishima approached him to mention that he had to talk with him about something that had occurred to him.

“What do you mean?” Yamaguchi asked.

“With all that happened, Kunimi is barely talking. And it's not that I want him to talk to me, but it's annoying to feel the tension that he radiates when we are in our room. And I'm worried about you because I know you're still worried about your performance during the game, and well, I love you." Tsukishima pursed his lips and opened his eyes like two big plates when he realized what he had said, while the one by his side started to smile completely excited because both knew that the taller wasn't used to say what was going through this head with regard to the relationship they had and what they felt for each other. "So..." He decided to continue speaking before beginning to feel his cheeks redden and see Yamaguchi's big smile, although he wouldn’t say that out loud. “It occurred to me that even if I don’t stand certain people, I could talk with the others of our year who are on the teams so that we can do some kind of training between us. A practice, maybe. Or something.”

Although the one belonging to Ravenclaw preferred to spend his time doing homework or being alone with the Hufflepuff, the attitude of his roommate and the concern for Yamaguchi had been enough for him to consider joining the others fifth-years to get together and perhaps perform some kind of practice among them. It could be taken as a time of distraction, so that Kunimi could also be close to Kindaichi, so that Yamaguchi could work out more safely because he knew that he would do it if only the fifth years were found and not the older ones, and because he himself wanted to test the tips he had finally agreed to receive from Kuroo.

"Yes, I would like it," Yamaguchi agreed, since practicing with those who were his friends of his same year, made him feel both comfortable and animated, and considering that Tsukishima had also thought about him when proposing the plan. “Although... I don’t know... I don’t know if Kunimi will accept.”

“Why?”

“I know he hasn’t said anything against me and that it doesn’t bother him that I keep appearing in your room, but I don’t think he wants to practice with other people than isn’t you or someone else from the Ravenclaw team. His distrust has increased, so I don’t know if he will be willing to accept us.”

Tsukishima realized that he didn’t notice that detail.

"Maybe I could talk to Kindaichi to convince him," He proposed. 

Yamaguchi nodded considering it was a good idea, and then he looked at him holding a smile that soon began to increase in size.

“Tsukki?”

“What?”

The one belonging to Hufflepuff embraced him. “Thanks.” He said.

Tsukishima opened his mouth several times, but chose to embrace him as well.

“You are welcome.”

“And Tsukki,”

“What?”

“I love you too.” 

* * *

Daichi walked down the hall with his typical smile as he returned the greeting to those who moved their hands to greet him after knowing him or simply recognize him as the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team or one of the prefects of said house, until his attention was focused on a grayish-haired one that stood out in the Great Hall. And unlike the previous times in the past, he was able to break the barrier that had prevented him from being able to function as he would with everyone else, even if for Daichi the Slytherin he sighted wasn’t just like any other person.

“That seems difficult," He mentioned, sitting next to Suga, who, like other students, took advantage of the space at the tables to do an assignment during the afternoon. He had an open book in front of him and several scrolls that seemed to be discarded essays.

The grayish-haired one smiled as soon as he saw who decided to make him company.

Several times they had had conversations between them since Daichi finally had the chance and the courage to speak at the Halloween party without feeling that he would die on the nerves of his body. They shared several classes for what they had begun to be more closely, and even share the bank in one of those.

Suga let out a sigh while still smiling. “It doesn’t seem, it is.” He assured him before closing the book to rest his elbow on it and his cheek in the palm of his hand to look towards Daichi's side. “So I deserve to have a distraction.”

“So now I'm a distraction?”

The Gryffindor raised his eyebrows while the other one let out a laugh.

“Would there be any problem if I say yes?”

“None,” Daichi innocently raised his hands.

They both laughed at the same time.

“How are you doing as a team captain?” Suga asked him.

“I can’t complain. The practices are fun, and fortunately everyone gets along. Besides, the morale of the team has increased after winning the first game.”

Suga smiled honestly, but in any case Daichi grimaced.

“Sorry!” He exclaimed as soon as he realized what he said. “It wasn’t my intention, I... is that... yes, I’m a mess.”

Although he had overcome his main obstacle, that didn’t mean that most of the time he would continue to lock himself in his own words when talking to the boy in front of him, who, as always did when Daichi seemed to forget how to formulate sentences with sense and logic, giggled entertained, which only managed to make the Gryffindor rejoice more and more for having managed to eliminate the fear that had prevented him from approaching him for too long.

“You don’t have to apologize, Daichi. It’s normal that you are happy for winning. I trust Kuroo even if the team didn’t win the first game." Suga assured him, not being annoyed at all because with his words, Daichi had reminded him that Slytherin had lost to Gryffindor during the first game of the Quidditch Tournament.

Daichi smiled sideways, but anyway he wanted to change the subject because he didn’t want the gray-haired one to talk to him while thinking about the defeat his team had suffered against his, so he didn’t hesitate to change the topic of conversation to make the disguised sad expression on Suga's face disappear. He still looked cute even if he didn’t smile, but he preferred to see him with an expression of happiness.

"Anyway, I still don’t know what's more difficult, if being captain or prefect," He expressed with a laugh.

Both positions represented authority status which implied that he should lead the people around him calmly so that he wouldn’t become a tyrant but also firmly so that not everything was a lack of control. And although he still didn’t know if it was more difficult to get his quidditch team to run one more lap instead of quickly getting on their brooms, or that they were all in their respective rooms when the time of the curfew was about to begin, and there were many times when he lost patience and preferred someone else to take care of it for him, at the end of the day he always felt proud to have been chosen to occupy both positions that were related to his house.

Daichi remained confused when Suga observed him as if he had told him the best kept secret of the magical world.

“You are... Are you a prefect?” He asked him.

“Yes... Kuroo, Yaku or Asahi didn’t tell you?”

“Did they tell you that I am too?”

It was Daichi's turn to hold the same expression that seconds before had dominated the face of the gray-haired one, who at that moment giggled after realizing that all that time they had occupied the same position in their respective houses without knowing it.

“No, they didn’t tell me!” Daichi exclaimed, feeling really offended and betrayed.

“What do you think? Do I look like a prefect?” Suga asked, straightening up.

The Gryffindor let out a chuckle that soon ceased and turned into a nod of assurance as the gray-haired one watched him seriously when he had begun to laugh at him. Yes, he was definitely a prefect like him.

“Do you like being a prefect?” He asked him.

“Well, it can definitely be tiring at times, but I'm not complaining,” Suga replied laughing, thinking about some of the times where he had to keep his arms crossed as well as his face serious when internally he was only laughing at the antics done by whoever he was scolding. As one of the times in which he had scolded Osamu for leaving his brother's hair in three different colors, because a joke by Matsukawa and Hanamaki against Oikawa had ended up going backwards and therefore they had been the ones to end up in the nursing after having nausea because the spell had bounced and therefore they were the ones who couldn't stop turning on themselves, or when both Futakuchi and Yahaba had managed to get the Miya twins to called each other by their opposite names because they had targeted their tongues with their wands, or because even though they belonged to Slytherin, both he and Kuroo, and Daishou had to run out of the room they shared after the last of them made a snake appear after trying to make Kuroo's hair become one. “But it's worth it. Have you seen the prefect’s bathroom? I don’t think I've used the Slytherin baths since I went to that bathroom.”

Daichi understood immediately because he also remembered prefering to feel relaxed without anyone bothering him while the bubbles made the stress of his body disappear or the fatigue that some training had left him. But just as it was quiet, sometimes it could also become boring, so before he could realize it, the words had already left his lips.

“We should fix our schedules to bathe together, it's kind of boring when I go alone.”

Suga raised both eyebrows as his lips tightened to prevent a funny smile that appeared in his face anyway when he heard the words of the one who at that moment seemed to realize what he had said because suddenly his cheeks turned the same color of the shield of his house that he had in his robe as well as began to shake his head.

“That sounded so bad! It’s not what I wanted to say, I referred to the fact that, yes, eh, to be together, but not in that way, that is, it’s boring to be alone, but ah! Of course not in that way, I sounded so disrespectful and I can assure you that I have good values! I mean, I'm prefect after all and that's why I told you about the bathroom and, I...”

He didn’t hesitate to hit himself in the forehead after realizing that his words had sounded totally ridiculous as well as out of context, and that they had made his cheeks redden because he didn’t doubt that they held that color because he felt his full face was on fire from the sudden heat that he had begun to feel, but he stopped wishing he was expelled from Hogwarts when Suga started to laugh without stopping after listening to him as well as seeing his own reaction, and Daichi allowed a quiet smile to appear on his face when he understood that the gray-haired one had realized that he wasn’t provocative, but only a person who, despite having been chosen for two positions that required him to speak, still couldn’t formulate two sentences with the logic he wanted.

"Yes, I know that being alone is boring," The Slytherin managed to say once he was able to stop laughing, although a large, entertaining smile was still on his face. “And yes, I think it would be fun to arrange to go at the same time to have someone to chat with." He added dedicating Daichi another kind of smile, to which the Gryffindor reacted by only increasing the blush on his face.

But he didn’t want other people to later ask him why his cheeks were completely heated, so he opened his mouth to change the subject again because apparently he was an expert in ruining any topic of conversation, but he was interrupted when some screaming came from the table of his house, calling not only his attention as well as the one who was next to him, but also that of all those who were in the Great Hall performing different activities. And while he hit his face with his own hand and shook his head, Suga laughed completely amused when they both saw the duo that had taken everyone's interest.

“Of course not!”

“Of course it's like that, dumbass!”

The two fifth-year students who belonged to Gryffindor stopped arguing loudly and shouting at each other when, like everyone present, they heard someone shouting at them to shut up, and they pretended to be distracted once they glimpsed that that person was nothing more and nothing less than the captain of the team they both belonged to, as well as the prefect of their own house, and Hinata didn’t hesitate to nudge Kageyama.

"Daichi-san scolded us because of you," He murmured.

Kageyama glowered at him with his blue eyes.

“Of course not. It was your fault, dumbass.”

“Don’t you know any other insult?”

“Dumbass.” He articulated anyway.

Without knowing how, they had gone from swearing an eternal rivalry to get along inside the Quidditch stadium after being part of the same team and pass the individual practices together, as well as outside that, as they had begun to tolerate themselves even though they weren’t mounted on their brooms and although their encounters were usually based on shouting and insulting each other for meaningless situations. As in that moment, since they had begun to argue about whether the gardens surrounding the castle had lost their characterizing greenish color because someone had cast a very general spell, or because the season chose to take the colors of the landscape.

“I'm getting bored. Want to go play Quidditch?” Hinata asked.

"You can tell you're obsessed with losing," Kageyama replied.

“That's a lie!”

“Of course not!”

The two fell silent again when they felt a great black aura coming from the same side of which they had heard a shout before, and then they exchanged glances between them to nod at the same time after agreeing to retire so they could soon get on their brooms as well as to escape Daichi's wrath, but they were interrupted when someone appeared in front of them.

“Do you come looking for a fight?”

While Hinata didn’t hesitate to hide behind Kageyama, taking advantage of the fact that he was taller, he didn’t also doubt to move his arms to indicate that he was ready for a confrontation.

“Only so that it enters your small head, Hufflepuff is the next house against which you play, not mine.” Tsukishima stated.

“Who do you say has a small head?!”

Hinata regretted his tone of voice and continued hiding even more behind Kageyama as soon as he felt Daichi's intense gaze on him while the blond who had appeared didn’t hesitate to laugh, but instantly felt that he shouldn’t have done it when he felt that something he didn’t dare to challenge, perched on the back of his neck.

“Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I've talked to the others fifth-years who belongs to the quidditch teams to do some practice among us. You can come if you want, although I think it would be better if you didn’t.”

“Kageyama, we must go!” Hinata completely ignored the last part.

“Of course we will go, idiot! We will show them our amazing movements.”

Tsukishima only managed to endure a few seconds to the duo of Gryffindor who began to fight each other for who would stand out more in the practice to which they had been invited, although the blond had never mentioned that it was going to be a competition, and much less among people of the same house, so he rolled his eyes and chose to leave before continuing to breathe the same air as them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flustered Daichi because of Suga is the best Daichi.
> 
> Next chapter: Yaku doesn't know if he likes Daichi to be his roommate or not.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy I was not ready for toy story 4

“You know, considering that I'm spending my time teaching you, my enemy for belonging to another house and the team that my team will face in the next match, you should have told me why your name sounded familiar to me from the very first moment.” Kuroo said before releasing a tired sigh as well as the bat he had held so he could lie on the hard dry grass that it had already lost its typical greenish color as well as its softness at the touch.

"You're the one who offered your help," Tsukishima sat next to him.

He had heard all the older's words, and for the same reason he decided to focus on the first part of his sentences, but Kuroo held a sideways smile.

“Don't forget it doesn’t work on me,” He mentioned.

“What?”

“Pretending to be a fool. You heard everything I said.”

Although it was the first time they had practiced together since they had met since the blond decided not to reject the presence of the other, and on the contrary, accept his advice so that his development in the matches could increase and he himself be better so that the team could improve, and although they barely knew each other, if they even could say they did, they both knew what it was like to be the other, because no matter how different they were, both were equally ironic and sarcastic and liked to annoy people, and in addition, they had discovered that practicing together was not something they disliked completely. Tsukishima listened to him for what made Kuroo forget those who didn’t attend Slytherin's official practices, and even though Suna never hesitated to ask him if he wanted to train with him, an extra practice didn’t hurt the fifth-year, and much more considering that Kuroo was a seventh-year and was known for being a skilled beater just like the one from his own team.

Neither of them could feel the cold provided by the wind and the weather on them, since the warmth given after having been moving on their brooms for most of the afternoon, was enough for them to continue enjoying the outdoors.

“I don’t like people projecting my brother in me. So that's why I never mention him." Tsukishima decided to say, not because he wanted to tell the one lying at his side something he hadn’t even spoke with Yamaguchi, but because he knew that although he pretended, sooner or later Kuroo would bother him until he knew about his brother, who had already graduated from Hogwarts five years ago.

The one belonging to Slytherin looked at him after taking a sip of water.

"I only know that he was on the Hufflepuff's Quidditch team for one of the team's photos in the stained glass windows on the second floor." 

“And that's all you need to know.”

“Then why did you talk to me about him anyway?” Kuroo asked, and Tsukishima rolled his eyes while he smirked. “Whatever it is, each player is a player. The least I will do is think of your brother when I beat you in a battle of beaters," He added, making the blond look at him with an arched eyebrow

"You won’t win against me," He assured him.

“Of course I will,” The other contradicted.

“Of course not.”

“If you are so sure then we will stop practicing because there is nothing that I can teach you anymore.”

“You are annoying.”

“You too.”

They both looked at each other intensely for a few seconds.

“Shall we continue practicing?” The one belonging to Slytherin inquired along with a defiant smirk.

"Sure," The younger of both agreed. 

Maybe they didn't know each other at all, and they belonged to different houses and years, but that didn't mean they wouldn't take advantage of occupying the same positions in their respective teams, and therefore, allowing Quidditch to make them learn more abouth each other.

* * *

 

Daichi couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh caused by the exaggeration of the one who at that moment didn’t hesitate to throw his own pillow to his face, although that didn’t stop the captain of the team to cotinue laughing. He couldn’t control his laughter for several seconds until he was forced to squeeze his lips so that his roommate stopped tearing him apart with his intense brownish gaze.

“It's not funny, Daichi!” Yaku shouted.

“Of course it is. You're all over the top," He contradicted, along with a cheerful smile.

“It’s not funny!” He repeated, and stopped being in his bed to approach his roommate. “On his arm! My head was on his arm!” He exclaimed sounding indignant, pointing to his own body, “I was careless, and I let myself go. And I rested my head on his arm. I don’t understand how I could be such a fool." Yaku added, falling face down on the other one's bed.

Daichi continued to think that he was extremely exaggerated after he had told him what happened not so many nights ago with the one that belonged to Hufflepuff and was characterized by his great height.

“Careless?” The team captain raised an eyebrow as he smiled, “Then you accept that you did want to rest your head on his shoulder.”

Instead of throwing a cushion again, Yaku rolled his eyes before changing position by turning himself and staying with his back on the mattress to observe the ceiling with a capricious pout on his face. “I really hate myself.”

The other rolled his eyes when he heard him.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. Liking Lev isn’t a bad thing.”

“I don’t like Lev!” He exclaimed, sitting down immediately as soon as he heard him.

Daichi sighed. He was tired of his roommate complaining to him about the Hufflepuff's appearances when he really didn’t do anything to stop them, because instead of rejecting the fifth-year, Yaku allowed him to stay at his side.

“That boy dies for you. I don’t know why you complain," He stated.

"He doesn’t like me, he only bothers me all the time," Yaku contradicted him, thinking of all the times that Lev had appeared to interrupt his harmonious day with his acclaimed tone of voice and immature personality.

“Being Lev, that's the same as liking you.”

"You won’t make me change my mind, Daichi.”

The aforementioned crossed his arms, as he didn’t doubt that even if it was Lev who appeared suddenly, that being his way of showing that he liked Yaku, somehow his roommate was beginning to feel the same way. But all he did was denying it completely.

"I really don’t understand why you are like that," Daichi said, “What are you so afraid of?”

After not understanding why his roommate didn’t seem willing to follow what his heart felt or accept that at least he didn’t entirely dislike spending his time with the grayish-haired one, he thought that he would respond that he feared that the characterizing Hufflepuff competitiveness could get in the middle, that for some people it wasn’t easy to accept that a boy liked another boy, or that his quiet personality didn’t turn out to be the perfect combination with the more cheerful and energetic personality of the other one. He never expected Yaku to rest his eyes on the mattress, being totally serious and not at all funny, let alone answer his question with the words that came out of his mouth.

"Future." He answered.

Daichi stopped smiling as soon as he heard him.

“Future?”

Yaku let out a sigh before continuing.

“This is our last year here, Daichi. I don’t want to start any relationship knowing that next year I won’t be here," He explained.

“Then you're saying that if Lev wasn’t a fifth-year, you would agree to be with him?”

"I didn’t say that." Yaku stated, looking up at him.

When he realized that although for a few minutes he had managed to hold a serious talk with his roommate, the same would continue to deny the possible emotions he felt towards the Hufflepuff, so Daichi let out a sigh. “If you will continue acting like that, then I’m going to sleep.”

After turning off the light, he went under his sheets no matter that his best friend was sitting at the end of his bed, although it took a few seconds to feel that the other moved to lay on his side.

"You're evil," He heard Yaku tell him.

“I'm not, I just don’t see the meaning of continuing with the conversation if you will continue without accepting how you feel.”

“Then let's talk about you and Suga.”

Daichi felt an intense heat in his cheeks as soon as he heard the name mentioned, and although his best friend couldn’t see him because they had been left in the dark, he still glared at him when he heard he laughed thanks to his lack of words. Or perhaps he was glaring at the air itself, since he couldn’t see Yaku either.

“We were talking about you and Lev.”

“And now of you and Suga. How is everything going between you after you told him you should bathe together? I can’t believe that it took you so long to talk to him just to show what you really want after saying that you should be in the bathroom at the same time," Yaku said with a laugh.

“It's not funny!”

Previously Daichi didn’t hesitate to tell his best friend the conversations he had failed to have with the gray-haired one because he had only managed to make a fool of himself after mentioning the idea of being in the bathroom at the same time, although he also didn’t doubt to reproach him that he hadn’t told him that Suga was also a prefect like him, so Yaku was already aware of his situation.

“You know, I'm proud of you for having managed to speak to him. I'm glad to see you don’t run every time you see him. He also seems happy for the same," The one by his side added.

Daichi smiled when he heard his last sentence.

“Do you know why I don’t understand you?” Daichi started, “Because Lev seeks you all the time and expresses the worst and least credible excuses to spend time with you, while Suga doesn’t do the same. Maybe I annoy him and I don’t even realize,” He added when he realized that his relationship with Suga was totally different from the one Yaku had with Lev, if they could say they had some kind of relationship.

"They are completely different people, Daichi," Yaku said, “Besides, I can assure you that Suga is always in the stands when we train not because he is our friend, but because a certain person who is now next to me is the captain of the team. Auch!” He complained when he his stomach was elbowed. “It's true. And what's more, if he didn’t want to talk to you, he wouldn’t talk with you and would leave when you approach him. To be the one who says I'm an exaggerated, you are too.”

“Maybe we both should stop being exaggerated.”

“Maybe.”

They both continued in silence until the one with light brown hair spoke again.

“Can I sleep here? I don’t feel like crashing with everything going back to my bed.”

“I can turn on the light.”

“I don’t want to get up. And besides, you have my pillow.”

“You're right.”

Daichi stopped having two pillows under his head when he passed his to his best friend while he settled himself under the covers as he did.

“You know Daichi, maybe we're good at playing quidditch, but we suck as Gryffindors.”

“I can’t contradict you.”

The taller of the two let out a complaint when he received a hit on his shoulder.

“You are the one who must give inspiring speeches! Not accept my words!”

“Can’t I have moments of depression too!?”

“Not when I’m the one having them!”

The two best friends passed on their sentimental problems to reality, since they started a real fight of pillows and to pull the sheets so that the other was cold even if there was another bed without undoing a few centimeters away from them, but at least Daichi was happy, because without realizing it, Yaku had expressed that for some reason he didn’t consider himself quite brave either. 

* * *

 

What many people didn’t know about Kenma, was that even if he kept his fingers glued to the electronic device and his gaze fixed on the screen, he was still able to perceive every movement that was happening around him, to hear every word that the students around him exchanged with each other, and even to guess the thoughts and intentions of each of them without having to know them or have ever crossed words. He could predict their true pretensions just by giving them a quick glance, as well as figuring out what they really wanted when they socialized with others. Kenma was a very observant person and attentive to the environment that surrounded him. And many people underestimated him for all the times he had collided with others after keeping his eyes on his device as well as for all the times that Peeves had made a joke on him. Many even questioned why he had been placed in Ravenclaw since getting good grades wasn’t enough for the Sorting Hat to place him in that house.

But the people who really knew him, and Kenma himself, knew he belonged to the house characterized by the color blue because although he was totally reserved and rarely socialized beyond the people he knew, his concern for what others thought of him was extremely alarming, so he noticed details, and most of the time, weaknesses, that others didn’t distinguish, when noticing everything that happened around him. He was a fully observant person and any abnormality caught his attention. He had learned to read people without having to relate to them, and that characteristic had become his best quality both inside and outside the quidditch stadium.

He was the team's seeker not only because that position prevented him from facing the other players except with the opposing team's seeker, but because he analyzed the game from his position and sighted the snitch faster than anyone else. And he belonged to the Ravenclaw's house not only because he was intelligent and his grades showed it, but because he was also completely patient and careful when drawing conclusions that he could only reach after long moments of concentration. He was attentive, observant, and agile when it came to reading people, situations, and moments.

And for that very reason, and because it didn’t matter how long they were separated from each other, since the years had passed enough for Kenma to know him from head to toe and vice versa, he knew that the one who was in front of him was hiding a detail that he wasn’t willing to let him read. Kenma was aware that Kuroo always fixed his eyes on him every time he decided to remain in front of his presence instead of running away like he did most of the time, and on that occasion, the black-haired one smiled in a somewhat fake way and played with his foot while looking down and scratching the back of his neck. He acted differently because he always laid his eyes on him, and because he used to hold a cheerful smile or a vain smirk on his face instead of a moderately serious expression.

The Ravenclaw hadn’t heard anything of what he had started to tell him since they had met in the corridor, since the change in his attitude captured his full attention. He usually was the one looking at the ground while Kuroo watched him when they were together, but at that moment it seemed to have been reversed.

“What are you hiding from me?” He decided to ask him.

For the first time since the moment they met, Kuroo stopped letting loose a string of words to remain stupefied and completely silent. The Ravenclaw's golden eyes crossed with the gold of his own, and Kenma glimpsed his mouth forming a new smile.

"Always reading others," The Slytherin captain said.

A barely noticeable smile appeared on Kenma's face.

"Nothing you should worry about," Kuroo added.

Then he was right in thinking he was hiding something from him.

His roommates had told him what happened with Kunimi as Akaashi had also told him that Kuroo also knew after listening to them talking in the hall and Akaashi deciding to tell him about the matter because he hadn’t doubted that he had nothing to do with the made spell, so he didn’t doubt that the detail he was keeping hidden from him, had to do with what happened with the keeper of his team, since he knew that intelligence was a feature that continued to characterize Kuroo no matter that he wasn’t in Ravenclaw, so he wouldn’t be surprised if he had already discovered by himself who was or who were involved.

"I'll find out sooner or later," Kenma reminded him.

Because just as Kuroo was smart, so was he.

The one belonging to Slytherin gave a small, honest laugh.

"I know." He said with great sincerity.

Kuroo wasn’t the only person Kenma could read easily, since being his sixth year with his roommates, and whom he could refer to as more than that because he considered them his true friends, he had learned to interpret the different attitudes of both Akaashi and Ennoshita.

And after having separated from Kuroo only to end up running into Ennoshita, he knew why he was observing Futakuchi for a long time ago, who was sitting in the hall with his back leaning against the wall while using his legs as support for the book he was reading. Kenma had already lost count of the times he had seen his roommate bother him and the other who could be considered the second member of the bothersome and fearsome sixth-year duo of Slytherin, who hadn't repeatedly hesitated to make him their favorite victim. And he knew that behind the inconvenience caused by the vice-captain of the team to which he belonged to, there was only one reason. So he didn’t doubt to move towards Ennoshita when he sensed the same would approach Futakuchi.

"Stop doing it." He expressed.

He managed to get his roommate to stand still in front of him.

“What do you mean?”

“I know you annoy them because in them you see the opportunity to take advantage of their antipathy for Kuroo. So I ask you to stop doing it.”

Kenma hated himself for expressing those words aloud. He hated himself for preventing his teammate from taking advantage of being able to destroy the morale of one of the rival teams in his own way, since what was convenient for Ennoshita ended up being convenient for him considering that both belonged to the same team and they wanted Ravenclaw to win the Quidditch tournament. Kenma hated to face his own housemate when it could hardly be said that he had a relationship with the one he was defending. He hated himself for knowing that the times he fled from Kuroo had diminished while those in which he stayed with him when they were in different parts of the castle continued to increase. He hated knowing that he was getting carried away by certain feelings while he chose to silence others that wanted to persist and insist that he shouldn’t give up and continue to ignore the Slytherin captain as much as possible. That he shouldn’t forget what he had done to him, the mess he had made with his feelings, and the whirlwind of emotions he had caused on him. But while a part of him implored him not to stop remembering the past, another begged him to concentrate on the present and the future. And that part of him was the one who led him to speak with Ennoshita.

"Always one step ahead of the others," Ennoshita said, looking at him with a small smile that indicated he wasn’t surprised his roommate had discovered the true intentions of his interventions in the times of the Slytherin's sixth-year duo. “Fine.”

Ennoshita didn’t add another word, and gave him a brief glance before going to the other side of the corridor, making it clear that he wouldn’t bother Futakuchi just because he had asked for it and because in the end he had never rested all his strategies in annoying the Slytherin duo, allowing Kenma to realize that he wouldn’t take the cons and respect his request even if they both knew it would be beneficial for Ravenclaw to take the fact that the Slytherin team wasn’t having a good moment.

Kenma was an expert observer. But what did he think when he looked at himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Oikawa likes to tease.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My best friend ships kurootsukki, I kuroken (both actually, in fact I just ship Kuroo with anyone really), and then we made peace because we realized we both ship kurooyaku
> 
> Some kind of kiyoyachi to brighten up your dayy

Oikawa threw himself on the other side of the sofa in which he had sighted Kuroo sitting, while the black-haired one raised an eyebrow as soon as he glimpsed the typical smirk on the face of the one who had decided to keep him company, since after he also usually hold that kind of gesture, he knew that it didn’t indicate anything good.

“What are you planning?” He didn’t hesitate to ask him.

He knew Oikawa well enough to know that he always concealed ulterior motives behind that smile, and when Oikawa smiled even more, he knew that he was right, and that therefore, the one with brown hair hadn’t decided to keep him company just for the sake of it.

"Your mood has improved a bit lately," Oikawa commented.

“Maybe because I'm not spending so much time with you.”

The victim of his sentence frowned when he heard him. “Mean!”

Kuroo simply smirked, but Oikawa stopped resting his head on one of the armrests of the sofa to approach him and basically cut with all the distance that had separated them so far. He rested his forearm on the back of the sofa and raised an eyebrow while Kuroo looked at him with a frown because he didn’t like that the other had got closer to him so suddenly, even if they were used to staying close to each other as well as hugging.

"I wonder if it's because you've started spending time with glasses-chan," Oikawa decided to say. 

And he achieved his task. Capturing the attention of the one next to him.

“Now you spy me?”

"No, I occasionally saw you," He corrected him, adjusting his own glasses since he had been reading recently.

He wasn’t lying to him, for he had certainly found himself walking near the gardens where he had seen the captain of his team practicing Quidditch along with Tsukishima. And instead of being upset, Oikawa was happy that Kuroo had found someone to practice with and really enjoy playing quidditch when he knew that his team's sixth-years were making him go through a rough patch of days, since he liked that his best friend didn't lost the charm for the game that united them although he would have liked to see Kuroo in the same way with Yahaba since the latter was also a beater, and with who Oikawa remembered he still hadn't crossed words since he made the mistake he did when talking with him the last time. 

"I'm glad," Oikawa added, but he remained surprised as soon as Kuroo spoke.

“I'm surprised,” 

“What? Why?”

“That you are extremely smart, and yet, you don’t realize that my mood has improved because of someone else." Kuroo explained.

Instantly the black-haired one regretted his own words because he had forgotten that Oikawa was probably the most dramatic person he knew, so he supposed that running was a good idea when he saw the great and funny smile that appeared on his face.

“Have you fixed your situation with pudding-chan?!” Oikawa exclaimed with bright in his eyes.

Kuroo covered his mouth for a few seconds because some people around them turned to look at them and not necessarily because their appearances were the cause of it like it generally happened. And he let out a sigh but then gave him a bad look because Oikawa had licked the palm of his hand.

He was far from having the relationship he wanted with Kenma, but he preferred to see the positive side of the situation and concentrate on realizing that the Ravenclaw wasn’t always fleeing from him as he had started doing since the beginning of classes. He had begun to choose to speak to him and remain in the same place as him when they met, and Kenma had even held his gaze the last time as well as a small, almost invisible smile.

“No. But it isn’t as terrible as before," He finally replied.

"I really don’t understand," Oikawa inquired, leaving his lively attitude aside to speak seriously, “He is the only person for whom I have seen you interested. He is the only one that you think so much to the point of allowing him to define your mood. I just don’t understand what has happened between the two of you so that he moves away from you. Last year you were completely united, just as the previous ones.”

Kuroo looked down.

He did understand what had happened between him and Kenma so that they would no longer be as close as they had been the year before, or since they had basically been born. He had made a mistake, and so far he was still dealing with the consequences of his own actions.

Oikawa looked at him while he remained silent, and suddenly smiled. Because just as from one second to the next he didn't doubt to leave the jokes aside to become serious, with the same rapidity he was able to lose his seriousness. He started to get even closer to him, and forced Kuroo to look up when he rested his forefinger on his chin so that he would stop staying somewhat away from him and using the sofa as fixing point, but the black-haired one immediately moved away from him when he recognized his intentions as well as he grabbed the armrest of the sofa as if his life depended on it while the other simply laughed amused.

“Were you trying to kiss me, you stupid idiot!?”

Oikawa didn’t care that some people heard the one who had certainly been right, and made a gesture with his hand to downplay his exaggerated reaction, while Kuroo, who had moved too far away from him even though they were in the same sofa, watched him with surprise and confusion.

“Don't worry, I don’t like you. I just think you should be prepared because I don’t think it will be long before pudding-chan falls into your arms again," He explained completely carefree, making it seem that he had only approached him to ask him something in a low voice, or to tell him a secret, instead of trying to join his lips to his.

But if there was something they got along for, it was because they were equally capable of replacing their serious side with an entertaining one and vice versa, so Kuroo decided to act in the same way after approaching him as Oikawa had previously done, but instead of doing the same move as the brown-haired one, he brushed his ear with his lips before Oikawa thought that their mouths would be those to join.

"We both know well who you like," He whispered so that only he could hear.

Oikawa's whole body tensed after hearing those few words while Kuroo again parted with a smile of satisfaction on his face when he glimpsed Oikawa's expression as well as the slight pout he had formed with his lips, which suddenly was replaced with a grimace of offense.

“What a fortune Tetsu-chan, because although you are hot I would never be with you.” Oikawa also chose to cross his arms.

“I really don’t know whether to take your words as an insult or flattery.”

“As a compliment, of course!”

Kuroo rolled his eyes before returning to his previous position, and again rested his eyes on Oikawa thinking how much he wanted to take advantage of that confidence with which they developed, to be able to tell him about the matter about Kunimi as well as the words he had heard that Futakuchi and Yahaba had crossed with each other, a fact he had also hidden from Kenma even though the Ravenclaw had certainly realized that he was hiding something from him. But he had promised that he wouldn’t say a single word, and he also couldn't nor want to, since he didn't wished the team he and Oikawa still lead, to continue to desintegrate. 

He didn't doubt that both Kenma and Oikawa had high capacities to read others, but the first of them had in his favor all the years of friendship they shared, so while Kenma was able to know that he was hiding something, Oikawa wasn't, no matter how much they knew each other and how closed they were.

“You should always take his words as an insult.”

Suddenly both his attention and Oikawa's was rested on the boy with crossed arms that remained standing not so far from them, with an obvious serious expression that made Kuroo suppressed a smile.

“Don't be a liar, Iwa-chan!”

“I got tired of your screams,” Kuroo opted to say to take that opportunity to leave, “I'm leaving," He added, getting up and leaving them alone, but not before winking at Oikawa on purpose, to which the brown-haired one reacted by rolling his eyes because he knew what that gesture was about.

Iwaizumi seemed to think about choosing to do the same because he went to the stairs that connected the common room with the bedrooms, but suddenly a pair of arms caught him from behind before crossing over his chest.

“Iwa-chan, don't you leave me alone!” Oikawa exclaimed hanging from him.

“It seems that you were perfect with Kuroo, so I don’t see the point in which you enjoy my company,” Iwaizumi stated taking off his arms from him, without being able to glimpse the wide smile that appeared on the other one's face.

“Did you see how I tried to kiss him?” He asked him.

"Yes, everyone could see you." The other replied, turning around.

"It doesn’t mean anything," Oikawa murmured.

“What?”

"It doesn’t mean anything," He repeated. “A kiss." Oikawa looked directly at him. "It doesn’t mean anything.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, but raised an eyebrow when Oikawa raised both repeatedly before beginning to throw kisses and jump around him as if he was five years old and had drunk more than five energy drinks one after the other. “It doesn’t mean anything, it doesn’t mean anything!” He repeated in a childish way.

A vein began to be visible on Iwaizumi's forehead, who although was accustomed to the true immature attitude of his best friend, that didn’t mean he was able to endure with it no matter that they knew each other since they had memory, so he saw no other remedy more than acting the way he did. Hating himself because he knew he didn’t do it just to make his best friend stop being a total nuisance.

He allowed his hands to stop forming fists at the sides of his body to rest the palms of his hands over Oikawa's cheeks, making him finally stay totally still instead of continuing to jump, as well as serious but expectant, and quiet but without knowing how long he would last without speaking, and from one moment to the other, Iwaizumi joined his lips to his.

It was only a second.

A fleeting encounter.

A quick sensation.

A soft friction.

But that minimal contact was enough for Oikawa to finally remain completely freeze.

“You're right. It doesn’t mean anything.” It was the only thing Iwaizumi said after separating from him and finally climbing the stairs as he had planned at first.

Oikawa followed him with his eyes completely attentive and his hands formed in soft fists as if he had tried to stop him but not reacted in time to do so, while Iwaizumi tightened his lips knowing that he had lied to him, because for him, it had meant everything.

* * *

Although at first silence had been the dominant as well as discomfort, not only because they belonged to different houses and despite being in the same year, they attended different classes and held different types of relationships between them; the common practice that Tsukishima organized, didn’t seemed to have any future or be a great plan although everyone had decided to participate, until they seemed to forget their differences when they mounted their brooms and began to play the sport that united them all equally: Quidditch. They trained together no matter what house they were from, those who occupied the same position gave each other advice or exchanged the tactics they used to use in a game, played as couples and in quartets, and even held a small game between them. They took the opportunity of having the afternoon of Friday free to be able to pass it on their brooms while Yachi was the one in refereeing the matches as well as finishing one of his notebooks after having run out of sheets for all the sketches she managed to draw after having so many players flying above her.

Kunimi had convinced Kindaichi to agree to play and vice versa, and the Slytherin himself focused on trying to make it a good practice so that his best friend seemed to stop panicking to get on his broom and stand in front of the hoops, but it had also helped the fact that Shibayama, who was a substitute keeper on the Hufflepuff team, had asked him for advice after occupying his position after he being the titular keeper of Ravenclaw. Furthermore, although at first the tension had been obvious to everyone when Kageyama found himself in the same place as Kindaichi and Kunimi, that was soon eliminated when the Gryffindor spent his time fighting with Hinata, who didn’t doubt to argue about all the possible topics with him as long as he could keep him distracted and avoid being tensed by the past relationships Kageyama had with those with whom he had shared a team.

The fifth-years spent the afternoon being distracted, mocking each other and giving encouragement to each other, knowing each other better, and getting closer no matter how different their personalities were. They played Quidditch throughout the afternoon getting their housemates not only to wonder where they had been during the afternoon, but also to stay impressed because when the time of the dinner arrived, they fifth-years chose to sit at the Hufflepuff table, except for Tsukishima, who believed that he had been patient enough to give himself a moment of peace after having had to share his afternoon with people he preferred not to cross with.

And unlike him, at the Hufflepuff table, Kindaichi and Kunimi were sitting side by side, the first of them not bothering that their elbows brushed, because although the Ravenclaw by his side could claim that he had been distracted during the afternoon, and also had no resentment even if he had been spellbound during the game he had played against the house in which table they were at the time, his distrust only seemed to diminished when he was with his best friend, who apparently surrounded him with his safety. Next to them, Yachi and Yamaguchi were sitting, while on the other side of the table, Lev and Hinata were competing to see who could eat more potato balls faster, and next to the redhead, Kageyama seemed happy to have played quidditch all afternoon, and for having a plate of food in front of him.

“Who of us do you think the Sorting Hat placed faster in one of the houses?” Koganegawa asked, making everyone rest their attention on him after saying those words. He was next to Lev as well as Shibayama by his side.

“I think we all took a little.” Yachi replied, remembering the night everyone had known Hogwarts, and therefore, sorted among the four houses.

"Kindaichi, you've been the slowest," Lev pointed out after swallowing the last ball of potato.

“I was sure of my decision. I always wanted to be in Slytherin since I knew that Iwaizumi-san and Oikawa-san are there," He said, making Kageyama watch him out of the corner of his eye. “I guess the Sorting Hat took its time to check if I had any doubts."

"I thought you would come to Hufflepuff, Kageyama," Lev talked again.

“Why?” The mentioned one asked looking at him, since they could see each other considering that Hinata was the one seated between them, and who at that moment was interspersing his eyes in them.

“You don’t rest until you consider that something that was bad before, becomes perfect. We Hufflepuffs are hard workers who don’t give up.”

Yachi, Koganegawa and Shibayama smiled when they heard their housemate expressing the characteristics that determined them, and although Yamaguchi was also from Hufflepuff, he seemed distracted enough not to realize that they were speaking well of the house to which he belonged too.

"I think you're fine in Gryffindor," Hinata mentioned after he massaged his belly for feeling satisfied after everything he had eaten, making Kageyama look at him and stop thinking what would have happened if he had been sorted in another house. “It’s true that you don’t stop until you feel satisfied with yourself, but in any case you're the only one who has the courage to try something new in the matches. Without having practiced before, and without knowing how the results will be. You're brave when it comes to trying and you're not afraid to improve, and I think that's why the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor.”

Although everyone remained silent because they didn’t thought the redhead could express more than two sentences in a row with sense, Kageyama was the most shocked by Hinata’s words, because although the short one hadn’t planned his speech, he had only spoken truthfully. And usually he and Kageyama fought or insulted each other, so he wasn’t used to hearing words of that style on his part. But he didn’t want to blush in front of everyone, so he chose to grasp Hinata's head with his hand only to make the others laugh and the redhead begin to complain, and thus, to start a new fight between them.

Kindaichi and Kunimi crossed an accomplice glance, saying without needing to speak, that they agreed in the fact that Kageyama had changed since the times in which the three belonged to the same team, and then Kindaichi look at the Gryffindor in front of him.

His relationship with Kageyama wasn’t based on the fact that they had to consider themselves rivals for the simple fact that they belonged to houses ruled as enemies, but because the past between them had shown that they weren’t able to find themselves on the same team without insulting each other or Kageyama shouting at him when he didn’t arrive in time to continue with his passes. They had belonged to the same team but never felt that they had really been teammates. And Kunimi knew that because he had also been part of the story, so he was glad that Kindaichi had preferred to momentarily put aside his problems with Kageyama to concentrate on him and in that way have made sure that he didn’t distrust everyone around him, because both knew that he wouldn’t had participated in the common practice in case the Slytherin hadn’t insisted.

Kindaichi's eyes and attention once again rested on the one by his side when he felt Kunimi gave him a gentle nudge. “I think Tsukishima will stay with Yamaguchi. Do you want to stay in my room?” Kunimi asked.

"Sure," Kindaichi replied, smiling because his time with him still wouldn’t end.

The two began to talk as Hinata and Kageyama continued to fight while Lev watched them completely amused, since usually he was the one who behaved that way at the table, and Yachi took the advantage of everyone being distracted to rest her eyes on the one sitting next to her.

Since dinner had begun, Yamaguchi had barely spoken as well as held the same position. With his elbows resting on the table as well as his chin on the palms of his hands, allowing his gaze to remain on the people sitting at the Ravenclaw table; especially one of them. Reason why he hadn’t paid attention to the words crossed between those sitting around him, and for which at that moment he allowed a sigh to leave his lips and then tilted his head, not realizing that the blonde was watching him.

“He is so pretty.”

Although he had expressed those words in a barely audible tone of voice, Yachi was attentive enough to hear him and therefore follow the direction of his eyes, as well as smile when he sighted who he had spoken about.

“Tsukishima must care a lot for you if he chose to join us all so that everyone could train, and you take the opportunity to play quidditch,” The blonde commented, because although she knew Yamaguchi much better than Tsukishima, it was clear to her that if the Ravenclaw had decided to talk even with Hinata and Kageyama so that both would attend the shared training, then it was because he was willing to do whatever it was so that Yamaguchi felt good with himself and gain some of the confidence he had lost during the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw game because he believed he hadn't contributed even if they had won.

“Mhm?” Yamaguchi seemed to leave his thought bubble when he heard Yachi's voice. “I wasn’t talking about Tsukki," He said without even thinking, and when Yachi cocked his head after not understanding him, Yamaguchi again rested his gaze on the Ravenclaw table. “I mean, of course Tsukki is pretty," He added without hesitation, along with a smile that quickly appeared on Yachi's face. “But I was talking about him.”

The blonde returned to follow the direction of his gaze to realize that during all that time, his housemate hadn’t been with his eyes on Tsukishima, but on the one who was sitting next to the blond and with who he had been talking while they had looked at them. And although at that moment Akaashi focused his eyes on the book in front of him after Tsukishima had begun to chat with Ennoshita, the two Hufflepuffs continued to admire his facial features that were easily appealing to anyone.

However, Yachi rested his eyes on his housemate when he understood the true reasons behind the words he had previously uttered.

"You don’t have to worry," She expressed, and Yamaguchi looked at her as soon as he heard her while she held a calm smile on her face. “Tsukishima only sees you," She assured the boy sitting next to him, who allowed a small smile to appear on his face when he understood that his best friend had realized that he had asked himself how it was possible that with someone like Akaashi Keiji so close to him, Tsukishima was interested in him. “He gathered us all just for you, and partly for Kunimi as well. And besides, I think if Akaashi-san observed Tsukishima that way, there would be a little more noise in our table, don’t you think?”

Yamaguchi giggled when he heard her, knowing exactly what she meant.

They both looked at one of their housemates, who, unlike them, was eating enthusiastically while cheering happily because dinner time was always one of his favorite times. Bokuto was focused on the food on his plate, or at least what remained of it, and Yamaguchi and Yachi kept looking at him knowing given the case Akaashi looked at someone the way Yamaguchi looked at Tsukishima, they didn’t doubt that a radar would appeared in Bokuto's brain so that he could glare with his golden gaze at the person who received the special attention of Akaashi.

But as Akaashi only had eyes for the phrases in his textbooks as well as for the one who continued to have dinner in an enthusiastic but calm way, Yamaguchi again smiled animatedly after thinking that Yachi was right.

“What about you, Yachi?” He asked suddenly.

“Me?” The blonde asked confused when she heard her name.

“We always talk about me, but is there anyone you look at?”

Suddenly Yachi's cheeks were decorated with a blush at the same time she glanced sideways in the direction of the Ravenclaw table, before resting her gaze on the table of her own house to also scratch a part of her cheek with his finger.

“Well... If we talk about being pretty..." She began to say, “I don’t contradict that Akaashi-san is pretty, but..." Yamaguchi looked at her and then followed her gaze with his own eyes to see the person in whom her housemate had rested her attention. “I think she's the prettiest."

Kiyoko held a small smile on her face when one of the girls next to her made a joke about one of the situations that had occurred in one of the classes that day, and just as Yachi had recognized the emotions behind Yamaguchi's eyes when he watched Tsukishima, Yamaguchi noticed in Yachi's eyes the warmth that those craved.

"She is," He agreed.

Because even though he only had eyes for one Ravenclaw in particular, it was impossible to deny that both Akaashi and Kiyoko were the most attractive people of that house, and of all Hogwarts students as well. Both had black hair as well as eyes as blue as gray, personalities as mysterious as quiet, ways of thinking as striking as envied and appreciated, and appearances that attracted the attention of anyone who crossed paths with them or who saw them from afar somewhere, just like the two of them in the Great Hall.

"You, Bokuto-san, me," Yachi began, “Had the Ravenclaws cast a spell on themselves?”

"Well, they're smart enough to do so," Yamaguchi smiled sideways, “But I don’t think they need to.”

They both looked at each other again with smiles on their faces, not noticing that although they only radiated warmth with their eyes, many other glances implied anything but tranquility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Chaos finally breaks out in Slytherin.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously, Oikawa confronted Yahaba about why he was acting the way he did and Yahaba got mad with him, Akaashi and Kuroo said that the smarter of the two would be the one who first solved who hexed Kunimi, Ennoshita accused Yahaba without telling anyone, and Kuroo heard Futakuchi and Yahaba talking.
> 
> Btw, in this chapter I describe Ennoshita as I characterized him in this story, at the beginning I said he is occ so don't throw tomatoes at me https://i.gifer.com/Ym31.gif
> 
> Just in case, there's a brief mention of blood in the chapter

A full week had passed since Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff met on the quidditch pitch, and although Kunimi overcame the fact of being on his broom for fear that someone would want to hex him again even if he wasn’t going to play in an official match until the game against Slytherin arrived, the concern for who had been the one to bewitch him remained on Kuroo's mind, who even though didn’t belong to either of the two houses involved in the match, was related to those whom he had heard talking about the matter. The small fragment of conversation he had heard between Yahaba and Futakuchi was still spinning in his head, as well as why he had listened the first of them naming Ennoshita.

No one had yet made a discovery that could indicate who had conjured the spell, and Kuroo wasn’t sure that sharing what he had heard was a good idea or not. He didn’t want the sixth-years of his own house to continue to annoy him or the team, so he didn’t want to give them more reasons to increase their reluctant attitudes, and he also didn’t want the tension between his house and Ravenclaw to increase when they would have to face each other the next time a game was held on the quidditch field. He didn’t want to generate more problems than he already had, and yet he was aware that not talking about it implied other problems.

He didn’t know if staying silent or if saying what he knew was the right thing to do.

He was the captain of his team so he thought it was normal that he didn’t want to put the sixth-years in trouble, and although he still believed it was wrong to remain silent when his words could solve the problem, he was also aware that all pointed to those in his house when a problem occurred, and he didn’t want to do the same when he had only heard a small, though important, exchange of words between the sixth-year duo.

But once Kuroo found himself facing Akaashi and Ennoshita, he knew he had made a decision. Even though instead of telling them what he knew while the two Ravenclaws were staring at him, he decided to express a single sentence.

Softly, Kuroo poked Akaashi's chest with his index finger. "I am smarter than you."

Akaashi momentarily lowered his head to watch the sunken in his sweater and then observed Kuroo, who watched him seriously while Ennoshita interspersed his gaze between them, confused. And once he understood the true meaning of Kuroo’s words, Akaashi's serious gaze was slightly invaded by surprise.

“But that would mean that...”

Kuroo simply gave him a short smile when he saw that the Ravenclaw had comprehended the significancy of his words, but instead of confirming his thoughts, he observed the other present.

“What did you talk with Yahaba?” He asked Ennoshita.

And Kuroo guessed that although those in front of him were the captain and vice-captain of the Ravenclaw team, that didn’t mean they told everything to each other just as like Oikawa and he did, since he remained surprised when Akaashi seemed not to know what he meant after raising an eyebrow before observing his housemate, who remained totally serious after knowing that Kuroo's words had been directed towards him.

"It's nothing personal against your house," Ennoshita replied, not appearing to be concerned about the fact that the Slytherin had discovered his actions, “I just had a feeling.”

Kuroo didn’t know whether to believe him or not, since he knew that while Akaashi thought more clearly and didn’t point to anyone as guilty without having proof first, like others, Ennoshita preferred to think that the house characterized by the green color surely had been related to the matter.

And for that very reason, he hated to agree with him.

"Well, you were right." He said. The two belonging to Ravenclaw observed him impressed, that time being the first occasion in which Kuroo glimpsed a surprised expression on Akaashi's face as he sighted Ennoshita ceasing to be characterized by his somnolent look. “I heard Yahaba mention that he lied to you. I don’t know what he was referring to specifically, but I guess you do. He was talking to Futakuchi, so I figured that between what you know and what I know, we will know who did it. Although I have no doubt that we have already solved it." 

The expression on Ennoshita's face changed as soon as he heard the first sentence.

He had been thinking about how to apologize to Yahaba because he thought he had accused him without proof and without having thought it through, and while he himself felt guilty for pointing his finger at him and being direct with him, apparently Yahaba had done nothing but deceive him and make him feel guilty. And although Ennoshita had decided not to do it anymore because Kenma had asked him to stop doing it, he continued to think that bothering Yahaba was still one of his favorite pastimes, but unlike all the previous times he had approached him to make a comment, at that time he didn’t intended to do the same.

The two captains of their respective teams exchanged glances with each other before leaving after Ennoshita had left them to go in search of the one who had apparently lied to him in his own face when he had specified him to be direct and not lie to him. He was angry, and more than annoyed. He had never considered that Yahaba was the kind of person who did that kind of thing for his team to have the advantage only for belonging to Slytherin, much less considering that he himself had also had the possibility of belonging to that house.

He could still remember how the Sorting Hat deliberated on which of the two houses to place him since he possessed both the ambition of a Slytherin and the intelligence of a Ravenclaw, as well as he could remember himself hoping that he would be sorted in the house characterized by the blue color, since he thought that in that way he would be surrounded by the right people. Because although the black-haired, blue-eyed boy with whom he had crashed in Diagon Alley hadn't yet been called to see what house he would be sorted in, he had told him that Ravenclaw was his favorite house. Ennoshita wished that both would sorted in it, since the boy had been polite and kind to him, and he had only had to wait a few more names for both to be and see each other at the same table, as well as subsequently became roommates, as well as best friends. There was no time when he and Akaashi didnt't laugh when they remembered how they had known each other, nor when they remembered understanding that they shared the same room, only to cross the door of it and see Kenma already sleeping.

Ennoshita knew that he was intelligent and possessed skills that other students his age didn’t have, but what he was truly aware of, was the competitiveness that had always accompanied him. From that feeling that always accelerated his pulse and made the adrenaline rush through his whole body, the emotion he felt when the need to be the best came to him, making all his efforts concentrate on getting the best results for his own person. He loved being challenged and longed to dare people to savor the extent to which others could go side by side with his intriguing and competitive personality. He was extremely competitive, and unlike what others thought, he didn’t think it was a bad thing.

Because contrary to what the rest believed, his dedication didn’t imply trying to lower those around him, but to overcome himself and thus to increase the possibilities of his abilities and the greatness of his own potentiality. He prided himself on improving day by day and never believing that he had reached his limit, on thinking that he could always learn something new, and that knowledge never ended, as well as that the competitiveness that characterized him wasn’t a bad attribute, but the best one he possessed.

Annoying Yahaba was one of his favorites activities because the Slytherin was one of the few who faced his ironic comments and who also answered him in the same way, both seeking to annoy each other because the competition between them was healthy. Or at least that was what Ennoshita had thought. Until he had listened to Kuroo. He was angry, but he was also disappointed by the fact that Yahaba had played dirty and therefore sought out the easy way out. And the frustration finally hit him when he saw the duo of his same year walking quietly down the hall.

His scowl frowned on its own, and it was the first time that both Yahaba and Futakuchi remained completely surprised when Ennoshita approached them, cornering the first of them against the wall after placing his hands on the sides of his arms with a strong grip.

“I asked you not to lie to me.” He expressed looking at him fixedly.

Yahaba didn’t hesitate to observe him in the same way while Futakuchi spotted Akaashi arriving along with Kuroo.

"And I haven’t." He assured him.

The Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow and began to ask himself what he had done wrong or what detail he had not see, until Yahaba swallowed with heaviness when he visualized the seriousness of his face after Ennoshita realized his failure.

_‘Slytherins will always be the culprits.’_

Yahaba had mentioned that phrase to him when he had asked him if he had been the one to enchant Kunimi.

He was right. He hadn’t lied to him. He had answered truthfully to his question, and he even didn’t notice.

“Wait.”

Futakuchi spoke when he glimpsed that Ennoshita had understood the meaning of the words of the one who he still kept cornered and with whom he seemed to be extremely angry. And he not only managed to attract his attention and Yahaba’s, who observed him completely intrigued, but also that of the two captains who were present.

"Yahaba didn’t do it," He said.

He who had so far done nothing but admire the scene before him, finally decided to take the place that belonged to him, because although he considered himself a bad person, he didn’t consider himself a bad friend.

“I did.” 

* * *

 

Kuroo could be the most compressive person, or the least pleasant person to bother.

And the sixth-year duo understood that finally they had managed to fill the patience of him when they were dragged by the same to the common room they shared after belonging to the same house, because although he had allowed them to act in the way they wanted, to missed practices and disappoint the team in doing so, followed their own rules instead of his advice during the games, and even abandoned their respective positions to end up costing them the victory, he wouldn’t allow them to take him for a fool; since one thing was to bother him and another completely different was to stain the name of the house to which they belonged to.

And at that moment and for the first time, Kuroo didn’t care in the least that the two in front of him observed him in a bad way.

“Speak. Now." He determined.

And also, for the first time, the two sixth-years understood that it wasn’t the time to make fun of him, so Futakuchi was the one to release a word, since besides, the one by his side continued without being completely involved in the situation.

"I was the one who bewitched Kunimi," He confessed without a hint of doubt. Kuroo glanced sideways at Yahaba, and believed the spoken words when he glimpsed the seriousness in his face while Futakuchi kept his head up. “Yahaba didn’t know it until Ennoshita accused him. And he came to tell me because he didn’t doubt that I was the one who annoyed the Ravenclaws during the game.”

“If you want Slytherin to win the tournament that much, why don't you show up for practice instead of getting involved with another house?” Kuroo asked, remaining totally serious as well as with his arms crossed.

"I don’t care about the stupid tournament," Futakuchi lied.

Yahaba's face changed completely after observing him with wide eyes.

“And then why did you do it?” The seventh-year demanded.

Futakuchi remained silent, and couldn’t be chased by Kuroo when he ran to the stairs that connected the common room with the bedrooms because he hadn’t expected him to suddenly disappear. The seventh-year was stupefied to follow him with his eyes but raised an eyebrow when he realized that Yahaba, who had also rested his eyes on the back of his best friend, turned to glare at him.

"And you really wonder why we don’t want you as our captain?” He asked him as if he already knew the answer.

Kuroo remained motionless when he finally knew what he had always suspected and his teammates hadn’t wanted to see, when he heard what he had always thought while the others had assured him that it wasn’t so. Despite the words of encouragement he had received, he had never stopped thinking that the sixth-year duo didn’t want to cooperate with the team not because they didn’t want to be part of it, but because they had never wanted him to be the one to lead it. His assumptions had always been the same, but hearing and knowing that he was truly rejected as the head of the team that apparently he wasn’t leading in a good way, hurt him.

"Yes, I really wonder why you don’t want me as a captain." He decided to say.

The fact of knowing that he was rejected as a leader didn’t explain the reason for the same.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Yahaba asked with a frown.

"No, you're kidding with me," Kuroo began, not only taking advantage of the fact that at least one of them had remained to finally heard him, but also to be able to expose all his thoughts aloud. “What have I done to you so that you don’t want me as captain? What did I tell you to not even give me an opportunity so I can show you that the team is everything to me?”

“You haven’t done anything to me but you know well that I am Futakuchi's best friend.”

“And that has to do with? Did he prefer another person to be captain and not me, and only because you are his best friend should you say the same thing as him, preferring to be against me for no reason? Or maybe you're lying to me because it would be more reasonable for you to be the one who prefers Oikawa to be the captain and since he is not, then you convinced Futakuchi to stand on your side?”

Yahaba's fists closed when he heard the name of the vice-captain of the team, showing Kuroo that it hadn't been a good occasion to name him because apparently something had happened between them that he didn’t know, but at the same time the confusion seemed to dominate Yahaba's face as the seconds passed, as his frown began to soften to be replaced by a grimace of bewilderment that in turn was replaced by an expression of accomplishment.

But Kuroo didn’t understand. Why didn’t they just give him a chance?

They hadn’t given him the opportunity to show them what he was like in his new position.

Unless the problem wasn’t what he was doing, but what he wasn’t doing.

He had always thought that Yahaba would be right to be disgusted with his new role in case he would have preferred Oikawa to be the captain because everyone was aware of the close relationship between them, and that the fact that he had only finished as vice-captain and he as the true leader had bothered him; until he glimpsed the way in which Yahaba reacted when the name of the brown-haired one was said.

So the problem maybe wasn’t him. But another person.

“Yahaba, if I somehow made you angry because I didn’t talk to Kyo-"

“Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!” Kuroo remained stupefied as well as his eyes wide open when suddenly the boy in front of him stopped maintaining his composure as well as a serious image when that one was replaced by one of complete irritation that along with the expression of anger on his face and the tone of voice he had used, made clear that his chest had begun to rise and fall rapidly because there was only anger inside him. “I'm tired of you and everyone thinking I'm an idiot!”

“I never thought or said you were a-"

“I'm tired of you and Oikawa looking at me like I'm an asshole!” He interrupted, not even caring on adding the honorifics.

“Then change my opinion!” Kuroo didn’t hesitate to also raise his voice so that there was no possibility of being interrupted again since he wasn’t there just to listen. He was also carrying too much frustration inside him. “I don’t look at you that way, but I can’t look at you with a stupid smile and glitter in my eyes when you don’t even explain to me why you don’t give me the opportunity to prove to you that I deserve to be captain! I chose you as a starter even though you didn’t appear in half of the practices, and you failed me anyway! So don’t expect me to see you with an expression of happiness!”

"So you're saying that you chose me as a starter to be okay with yourself and not because you really believe in me as a beater," Yahaba said, his tone still raised. “Now I understand!” He added, forming a false smile, “Is that why you spend your time practicing with beaters from other houses? Because I’m not the one you want me to be and to repair Futakuchi's mistake?”

Kuroo remained serious not because Yahaba knew about his training with Tsukishima, but because of the way he was reacting to it.

"I wouldn’t have time to do it if you, my starting beater, would like to practice with me instead of missing most of the workouts and leaving me in the middle of the game.”

“It’s clear that there are more beaters than me in the team. Matsukawa-san, Hanamaki-san, Osamu. But you clearly thought that by not practicing with them I would love you as a captain, right? Choosing me as a starter, not because I deserve it, but because you wanted to get my approval.”

“And you think you deserve to be chosen as starter? Do you really believe that after the game?”

Yahaba watched him silently knowing that he couldn’t answer those questions without thinking that he really didn’t deserve it and that his performance and Futakuchi’s had probably led them to their defeat.

"Don’t make me regret having chosen you again," Kuroo added, looking at him.

“Or what? Will you take advantage of your position in the team to put me as substitute?”

“You know we have the players to do it.” He determined.

Perhaps making him realize that there was a real possibility that he wouldn’t be chosen again as the other starting beater no matter how good his game was, was Kuroo's way to finally get to Yahaba, or at least that’s what he thought, until the boy in front of him laughed falsely.

“If you knew me you would know that threatening me to be replaced is not the way to achieve my motivation.”

“If I don’t know you it's because you won’t let me do it.”

Yahaba rolled his eyes. “You sure would have liked to be sorted in Ravenclaw, don't you? Everyone would listen to you there. Clearly you get along well with one of their beaters, you seem to have a very close relationship with their captain, and you don’t need to tell me anything for me to think that obviously you just decided to solve Kunimi's problem only because another important person to you is in Ravenclaw.”

"Don’t bring Kenma to this." Kuroo gritted his teeth, and glared at him.

“You hate us, don’t you?” Yahaba asked him, “You say seek our approval and you go down, making yourself frustrated when reality is that you and I know that Futakuchi and I are rejected in the same way that we reject you. You'd even like us to quit the team so that all your problems disappear, don’t you?”

Kuroo felt that his turn to get out of control finally arrived.

Because he wouldn’t tolerate that Kenma was introduced to the issue or that someone outside his own emotions told him how he felt when reality was that from the first day he had announced to be the captain, an annoyance hadn’t stopped resting on his chest after realizing that he wasn’t fully accepted as such.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Yahaba took a step back when Kuroo moved at the same time he expressed that phrase by shouting with a clear background anger that was also showing on his face. “My anxiety is eating me alive because you! Why the hell would I reject you if all I want from you is to be accepted! You and he are being the idiots that are causing the team to collapse when we don’t even started climbing just because I'm the captain!”

Kuroo was tired of feeling that way, of not understanding why he was rejected when he hadn’t done anything to be treated that way when what he most wanted was for Slytherin to raise the cup after winning because they were a team in which confidence was something reciprocal as well as good communication the key. And the fact of being accused of not being interested in the team and therefore his emotions of frustration and disappointment were nothing more than an appearance while underneath he was glad because Slytherin had had a bad start, had finally filled with his patience.

He had grown tired, and wouldn’t allow himself to continue to be disappointed when he hadn’t done or said anything that could make someone against him being the leader of the team. He was extremely proud of being chosen to occupy the position, and if putting players as starters who didn’t deserve it, as well as threatening not to let them play, weren’t strategies that worked to achieve the acceptance of people who clearly didn’t have a reason to reject him while he did have motives to reject them, then there was only one way out for the team to stop failing under his mandate.

“I am the captain. I am the leader. And if you don’t like my way of leading, my way of carrying out trainings, the game strategies I plan, and don’t even like me myself, and you will only make the team continue to fall as well as not fulfilling your role as beater then you are welcome to leave the team.”

The situation changed completely when those words were expressed.

The anger on Kuroo's shoulders was undone only to have its place filled with a new kind of tension that appeared as soon as Yahaba's angry face was supplanted by a completely serious one free of all existing emotion. And it only took a second for Kuroo to regret the words he had enunciated after allowing the frustration to influence him, because being a captain who threw the players out of his team only because not everyone agreed with him in every possible way, wasn’t the kind of leader he wanted to be.

But Yahaba didn’t give him the time to regret.

“I would say thank you for everything, but I don’t have anything to be thankful for.”

Yahaba raised his eyebrows for a second, and then shrug and finally begin to mark the path that his best friend had drawn several minutes ago, and his resignation from the team only continued to worsen when Kuroo followed him to try to stop him, because although he never thought what kind of leader he wanted to be, he knew he didn’t want to be one who could be considered a tyrant who got rid of the opposite opinion. But he only got Yahaba to react badly to the hand on his shoulder, and to take the situation far away of what they thought, when Yahaba stumbled after reacting in an exaggerated and unexpected way, and the glass table in between the chairs crashed when he fell on top of it. And the previous discussion didn't seem to make any sense when from one moment to the next, everythinig got worse when one of the fragments of glass ripped the inside part of one of Yahaba's forearms, although what less mattered was the table, or the scattered pieces that were left of it, when blood was that in joining the scene.

“Stay away from me.”

Yahaba didn’t scream or exclaimed as he didn’t let his emotions continue to leave him when he saw Kuroo trying to approach him from the corner of his eye, while his eyes remained on the part of his arm where a red line had formed, and from where blood started to trace different patterns.

Laughter that promptly ceased was heard in the background.

Hanamaki and Matsukawa stopped mocking Oikawa and he stopped pretending to be offended when the tree of them rested their eyes on the scene in front of them, in which they didn’t hesitate to intervene in a matter of seconds. Oikawa looked at Kuroo, who had turned pale, to stand in front of him and away from the one at whose sides Hanamaki and Matsukawa crouched carefully not to step on any glass, the first of them pointing his wand at Yahaba's arm to promptly make the bleeding to stop.

“Are you okay?” Matsukawa asked looking at Yahaba, who only nodded without taking his eyes off his arm.

His serious face and his downcast eyes showed no pain. Only frustration and fatigue.

"We must take him to the infirmary, Issei," Hanamaki expressed with concern in his voice.

The aforementioned nodded and the three got up to go to the doors of the common room.

“Yah-"

Kuroo was interrupted when Oikawa stared at him.

"Not now." Was all he said before returning his gaze to the trio of boys who promptly left.

“Oikawa I swear I didn’t d-"

"I know." Oikawa didn’t even allow him to think that he had thought that he had something to do with Yahaba's injured arm and with the fact that the glass table had been crashed in several fragments. “I'm sorry," He said, and finally managed to get Kuroo's full attention when he mentioned those words as he watched him. “I contributed for this to happen," He went on without needing to know what had happened or was said with exactitude to express what he felt. "I talked to him before talking to you that time in the Great Hall, and I made him angry," He explained, “I'm sorry, I failed you as vice-captain. I'm sorry, we both made him angry when our responsability is to take care of them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Akaashi has no choice but to accept that Ennoshita was right.


	39. Chapter 39

Ennoshita had realized that when he was the center of the problem, he preferred to accept the consequences instead of waiting for them to happen, because if there was something that was making him more and more nervous, feeling the anxiety grow inside of him as well as the alert of all his senses, was the fact that instead of having spoken with him about his talk with Yahaba, as soon as Kuroo had left with Yahaba and Futakuchi, Akaashi had let the night pass without saying a word about the matter. And when the next day Ennoshita got up, or rather just left his bed because he hadn’t managed to fall asleep since he waited that in the middle of the night Akaashi would make his sleep on the corridor, use his wand against him, or even wish him a good trip while he throw him out the window, he didn’t even dare to speak to Akaashi because somehow his expression had changed even though he had no proof since his face was still as serious as ever, and he decided to wait until Akaashi was the first to speak out on the matter.

Which turned out to be on the way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

“Did you notice the same thing I did?” He expressed walking at his side.

Ennoshita took a little jump away from him because he hadn’t expected him to speak suddenly, and even Kenma, who was walking in front of them a bit far, turned to see him with a raised eyebrow before refocusing his eyes on the device in his hands. While Akaashi continued to see him in the same way he always did, which made Ennoshita understand that he wouldn’t use his wand against him at any time, or at least until they arrived at the Great Hall.

"Yahaba had nothing to do with it." Ennoshita decided to answer, knowing what he had meant.

He didn’t know how to feel anymore. He had been angry about accusing Yahaba without apparent evidence and then feeling annoyed after thinking that he had lied to him, and finally had felt guilty again when he heard that Yahaba wasn’t the one who had cast a spell on Kunimi. But he promptly stopped wondering how he should feel when any feeling was replaced by the pain he felt when Akaashi took advantage of his distraction to stomp on his foot.

“Akaashi!" He exclaimed jumping on one leg until he felt he had two feet again, although he was grateful that his housemate had decided to step on it and not do some kind of spell to turn his hair of some exotic color or his face into some kind of exhibition in a museum.

“That was for not telling me that you talked with Yahaba.”

Akaashi continued with his same serious expression of always, and Ennoshita couldn’t reproach his words to him because he knew that all had promised not to open their mouths on the subject and he only finished doing the opposite, although in the end, it had served him and the rest to do so, but he preferred to stay with that thought because he didn’t want to give Akaashi any more reason to step on him again or even do something worse.

"I'm sorry," Ennoshita said, knowing that what he did had been wrong.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. At least now we know who it was.”

“Then why did you step on me!?”

“You deserved it.”

Ennoshita formed a grimace of disgust, but then glanced sideways at Akaashi.

“I know that we don’t have to let ourselves be led by the criteria that characterize us, but for something we are separated in four houses,” He began to say, making Akaashi observe him. Maybe he wouldn’t ask him for explanations, but anyway he felt he had to express why he had chosen to accuse Yahaba instead of someone else. “And if there's something for which the Slytherins are characterized, it’s because they are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. That's why I accused Yahaba, because I thought he was even willing to bewitch someone from another team in order to rise the Quidditch Cup.”

Akaashi only hummed in response, since although he wasn’t one of the people who thought of accusing someone only for the house they were in, he understood the thought of his best friend. "Even though it turned out to be Futakuchi and not Yahaba, I don’t think that what he did was related to the Quidditch cup," He commented, since to him it didn’t matter which house they were sorted in.

“What do you mean?”

“If he wants victory that much, he would first start showing up at his team's trainings. Yes, bewitching someone is easier than trying, but I don’t think his actions were related to the Quidditch tournament.”

“But then why would he?”

“Something else.”

Ennoshita arched an eyebrow. “Like?” He asked.

Could it be that again, Akaashi's mind took into account details he didn’t even think about?

“I don’t know,” Akaashi answered sincerely, but the slight arching of his eyebrow showed that he was considering options in which to focus for probably being able to answer that question in a future not so distant. “I just know it has nothing to do with the Quidditch tournament.”

"And with Kuroo being captain?”

“Maybe yes, maybe not. I only know that it’s something that we probably don’t understand or need to know, but if our team is again in the middle of their fights, then I will not wait for Kuroo-san to solve things like this time. I wasn't chosen as captain to jump in defense of my players only on the Quidditch field.”

At that moment, Ennoshita could visualize the way in which Akaashi's facial features darkened, at the same time that Kenma again turned to rest his eyes on the captain of his team, since it was enough for him to hear him sounding more serious than normal for him to understand that what had happened with Kunimi hadn’t pleased him at all, although nobody on the team had found it funny that one of them was spellbound in the middle of a game without anyone noticing.

But Kenma again resumed his game at the same time Akaashi stopped being totally rigid, when Ennoshita replaced his expression with a smile before pouncing on him to surround him with his arms as they continued walking, making Akaashi rest his eyes on him.

"I have a gift for you that you can also consider as a compensation for having me opened my mouth with Yahaba," He opted to say, deciding to distract him, since in addition, he believed that behind his words, there was also a part of Akaashi that blamed himself for not being able to discover on his own, or avoid from the first moment, that someone messed with one of his players.

“What are you talking about?” Akaashi asked.

Ennoshita opened his mouth to respond, but was suddenly interrupted when someone spoke, rather shouted, before him.

“AAAAKAAAAASHHIIIII!!”

The two turned around when they recognized that exaggerated and more than strong tone of voice that somehow managed to sound even stronger than all the previous times, and the person who always expressed the name of the Ravenclaw captain in that way unless he was depressed because the same person whose name he always shouted didn’t treat him in the same way, soon found himself next to them, breathing quickly after seeming to have looked for them all over the castle, or rather looked for one of them.

Bokuto finally straightened up when he caught his breath and placed his hands on the sides of his waist before smiling excitedly and looking at Akaashi intently while Ennoshita held a similar smile. He had repeatedly wanted to say a string of words since Ennoshita had told him that from that moment on, he should start telling Akaashi everything he liked about him, but something or someone had always interrupted him. But finally he had decided that he didn’t want to wait any longer, and that he didn’t want to let more time pass in which Akaashi still didn’t realize what he thought and felt about him.

“YOU ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON I HAVE EVER KNOWN!” He exclaimed.

Although Kenma had stayed away after waiting for them since he didn't want to cross the doors of the Great Hall alone, anyway he couldn’t help but giggle. Akaashi remained completely stupefied, and Ennoshita rested his elbow on his best friend’s shoulder as he watched him along with a more than entertaining smile.

"That's what I was talking about." He said. 

* * *

Yahaba watched the way the nurse next to him changed the bandages on his arm. “Have you been able to sleep well?” She asked, since she had been the one to attend him when the previous afternoon he had appeared in the same place with Matsukawa and Hanamaki so that she could treat the cut on his arm.

He simply nodded and formed a barely divisible smile on his face, not caring that the adult probably didn’t believe him because despite the movement of his head, the dark circles under his eyes indicated the opposite of his affirmation. He had barely been able to fall asleep, but not necessarily because of his injured arm.

The adult surrounded his left forearm with the white bandage and then point it with her wand to make it seem to stick in the corners so it wouldn’t come out later, and finally examined his arm with her eyes once more before placing them on him.

“Fortunately it wasn’t the arm that you normally use, and you don’t seem to have had problems during the night, but anyway come here before going to sleep so I change it again. And no exercise, at least for a week.” She stated, “I know the Quidditch season is important, but your arm too. Okay?”

Yahaba again nodded without saying a word, and the nurse smiled sideways.

“I'll go with director Takeda to tell him, you can leave if you want, or stay.”

Yahaba guessed that the nurse had taken that his silence was due to the fact that he couldn’t exercise for a week when in fact he realized that it didn’t matter since the previous day he had left the Quidditch team of his house, and so he didn’t have any training to attend, although he hadn’t been part of them either being on the team in an official way.

After the nurse crossed the doors and therefore left him alone in the infirmary, and although she had said to him that he could go if he wanted to, Yahaba still crossed his legs on the bed where he had been sitting, and lowered his eyes to his arm to examine the same with his downcast look. A white gauze covered it from his wrist until a little before his elbow, and he turned it slowly only to see that it was on both sides of his arm. The red lines had disappeared from view, and although at that moment he bit his lower lip, it wasn’t because it hurt or caused him any kind of discomfort.

He swallowed with difficulty, and then, almost as if he was afraid to do so, he rested his eyes on the entrance of the infirmary room.

Waiting. Still hoping for. Knowing he shouldn’t.

He didn’t expect Futakuchi to appear because he didn’t doubt that the same had realized that he himself had understood that he had been lying to him, since the events of the previous day had made it clear that Futakuchi had been lying to him basically since the classes had started; and besides, the night before he had slept in his own bed instead of taking refuge in him as he usually did every time he felt bad, as well as not talking about the fact that the captain of the team had begun the conversation with the two being present.

Nor did he expect that Kuroo and Oikawa were those to appear, since the second knew him well enough to know that he wanted his time away from them, and that therefore, neither of them would accomplish anything by approaching at that moment; since although it had been Kuroo with whom he had discussed the previous day, his previous conversations with Oikawa had led him to lose control more quickly at the previous day's crossword, so he didn’t really want to see neither of them.

He only hoped that he would appear.

And he knew he shouldn’t wait for him, that he shouldn’t have hope.

He formed a line with his lips to avoid biting the lower one at the same time he took his wrist from the injured arm with his hand as he had already become accustomed to do when he felt that he had nothing to cling to, and he swallowed again with difficulty when he felt that his stomach cringed and his chest began to annoy him.

He only asked for that. That he appeared. No one else but he.

That he cared for him, that he would cross those doors to make it clear that he had learned about what had happened and wanted to know how he was to show him that he continued thinking about him, that he hadn’t completely forgotten him; just as he hadn’t done it, since he knew that otherwise, he would have removed his eyes from the door instead of observing it attentively and intensively, beginning to feel nervous because although he only wanted him to appear, he knew that his wish wasn’t the corresponding one. He shouldn’t have hope, he shouldn’t think about him, he shouldn’t wait him.

To have argued with Kuroo, to have hurt his arm, not to have slept with Futakuchi even if he had wanted to do it even though he had lied to him because with him he had become used to feeling better, to have gotten upset as well as tired and discouraged. None of that was what caused him to be waiting at that moment, his nerves rising, his breathing deepening.

He just had to choose between two simple actions, keep looking or lower his eyes

But the first implied that he would continue to wait and that he would gather the necessary patience, that he was willing to forgive as well as start over again, while the second meant that he would again give up, that he should begin to try to forget.

It was a simple action that only involved the direction of his eyes.

And when he finally lowered his eyes to his arm, he let out a silent sigh as his vision became cloudy, until suddenly his entire body tensed when he heard a noise, but as soon as he turned his eyes back to the doors to see Atsumu's head peeking out, he lowered his gaze again, blinking several times.

He kept looking down when the mattress sank because Atsumu sat down in front of him, one of his knees almost brushing with his, and he swallowed hard again because he knew Atsumu didn’t need him to stare at him to know that he was avoiding his look for obvious reasons. And while he ignored his eyes, the blond certainly scanned him with his, since he hadn’t needed to be in the Great Hall to know that Yahaba would be in the infirmary room instead of there for breakfast; and not just because in the morning he had to change his gauzes.

“Are you okay?”

Slowly, Yahaba lifted his head to allow their eyes to meet, and Atsumu only took his eyes from him when the silver-haired one stretched his injured arm towards him, showing him the new gauze that the nurse had placed on it, but again observed him.

"You know I wasn’t talking about your arm." Atsumu added.

Yahaba removed his sight from him and used as a fixed point any space in the infirmary room, knowing that he had known that Atsumu hadn’t asked about his arm. He formed a line with his lips to keep them from shaking, and he knew there was no point in blinking repeatedly when the crystalline layer that covered his eyes was evident. He opened his mouth, but only after a few seconds was he able to speak.

"I..." He pursed his lips as soon as he heard the split voice he spoke with, and his lips began to tremble as he unconsciously shrank back on himself because he brought his arms to his chest. “I… I am in pain,” He managed to say, his cloudy eyes resting on Atsumu, but then again he lowered his head to shake it at the same time that he couldn’t prevent a first tear from leaving his eyes.

“Do you want a hug?” Atsumu asked him, and when the silver-haired one nodded as soon as he heard him, he didn’t hesitate to approach him, being careful not to hurt his arm although Yahaba remained with his arms completely close to him, and he surrounded him on his side to then pass an arm in front of him as well as to rest his head on his and to caress him on the back with his other hand, feeling as Yahaba trembled under him as well as listening to him cry.

"I'm so stupid." Yahaba mumbled between sobs.

"You're not." Atsumu only squeezed him a little more. “You are not.”

He focused on making him feel as protected as possible, while Yahaba kept his clouded sight in his hands, both feeling as if they had gone back in time after being in that kind of situation. Yahaba crying and Atsumu comforting him, hugging him while the other continued to think the worst of himself.

And Yahaba continued crying after realizing that time meant nothing when his heart was the one that wasn’t willing to heal as well as his thoughts to leave him alone because it kept him plagued with memories of all the last months. He hid his face in Atsumu's chest, making the blond surround his neck with both arms to keep him close to himself.

Neither of them said anything. Atsumu caressed both his back and neck gently, knowing that Yahaba only needed someone to rest on, though wondering why Futakuchi wasn't with him, because although he knew that the discussion had been with Kuroo, he didn’t know all of the details of why the silver-haired one had his arm hurt. And Yahaba kept crying, having felt tense since he had arrived at the infirmary the day before.

The peeks of Matsukawa and Hanamaki, the attempts of jokes that they had made to try to raise his humor because he didn’t doubt that his seriousness had been part of his expression from the beginning. The sideways glances he had received from his housemates when he had returned to the common room, not wanting to see the broken table or appear in the Great Hall for dinner, since he wasn’t hungry. The emptiness he had felt after not sleeping with Futakuchi as he liked to do when he felt that his chest was again closing, and therefore spent the vast majority of the night awake, feeling his chest tense and his hands trembling as well as his throat closed. The way he had basically dragged himself to the infirmary when he got up that morning, preferring to stay there because he still didn’t want to appear in the Great Hall or be in the common room of his house, since he didn’t want to cross paths with anybody nor hold conversations, or be the objective of the eyes of others.

Feeling protected was the only thing he had wanted and not obtained, so he hadn’t been able to avoid collapsing as soon as Atsumu had appeared to let him know that he was worried, that he continued to be there for him if he needed him to act as a pillar so that he wouldn’t keep falling apart. He managed to calm him with his presence as well as with his caresses, since during all that time he had only needed someone.

Maybe it wasn’t Atsumu who he had expected to show up, but knowing that the blond was still caring about him after seeing his worst phase, had assured him that he was more than just a housemate.

"Come on, don’t be so sad," Suddenly he heard Atsumu say at the same time that he continued to sob, still with his eyes fogged but his cheeks only moist instead of being the path for an endless trail of tears. “If you want I’ll do everything I can so that it won’t be Osamu who replaces you.”

Yahaba gave a slight giggle when he heard him, and Atsumu smiled.

They separated by a few inches, but both again became serious once the blond noticed that Yahaba’s smile had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, while Yahaba realized that it didn’t matter who took his place, since in fact he had already lost the role of official beater anyway.

“I left the team.” He expressed.

Perhaps it had been several hours since he had argued with Kuroo, and although he had discovered that Futakuchi had lied to him, it didn’t change that Kuroo had invited him to leave the team anyway, as he had agreed to do so, so reality continued being the same no matter that other day had started.

“What?”

Atsumu watched him stunned.

He only knew that Kuroo and the one in front of him had argued and that Futakuchi had also been part of the same because although he had not uttered a word, his serious expression and his black aura during the night of the previous day, had been enough evidence. He didn’t know why they had argued, although the idea that it was because of the team had certainly appeared in his head, but he didn’t expect Yahaba to utter that phrase.

Although after a few seconds in which the surprise finally seemed to leave his expression, he shrugged.

“Do you want me to leave it too?”

Yahaba giggled a second time when he heard him, not surprised that Atsumu reacted in that way instead of starting a series of questions about why he had said his previous sentence.

"You are a fool," He laughed softly, and rubbed his eye with the arm he could move without any problem, to then watch the hurt one for a few seconds, and finally hide the gauze that protected it after stretching the sleeve of his sweater.

“When you can play, we can start practicing for next year if you want.”

Although Yahaba knew that Atsumu had an easy-going personality as well as a carefree attitude, he had learned to differentiate the times in which he spoke only just because, of the times in which he spoke in a serious way although without appearing to do so. And he knew that his sentence had been an occasion of the second option.

“Why you neither have been going to the practices?” He asked him, since although he knew why Futakuchi and he had been doing it, they had both been surprised to learn that the Miya brothers had also started missing most of the team's workouts.

Atsumu looked at him, and then smiled sideways.

“Osamu rather not move, and I take the opportunity to do... things,” He expressed changing his smile for a narcissist one, to which Yahaba rolled his eyes but smiled amused because he knew that with that word, he meant activities in which he didn’t necessarily need to have clothes on, and not because that one was taking a shower. “It's not because we're substitutes if that's what you think," He continued, and then wrinkled his nose, “But while my brother and I fight all the time, if there's one thing we agree on, it’s that this team is not ours.”

Having left aside his cloudy vision, Yahaba frowned.

“What do you mean?"

Apparently while Futakuchi and he had never had a real reason to miss training, there had been people who did.

“I admire Oikawa's skills. He is a player who can make each player the best version of themselves, and despite our defeat against Gryffindor, we all know that with whom he better connects is with Iwaizumi, and Kindaichi. Strategies, skills, technique. They matter. But the connection between players is something that you can’t always get." Atsumu began to say looking at him while Yahaba listened intently. “You trust him and he trusts you. My brother and I understand why we are not chosen in games, and believe me, it doesn’t make us angry. Osamu doesn’t doubt to take advantage to be lazy, and I don’t need to be chosen to know that I am a good player," He expressed without intending to be arrogant, and Yahaba didn’t doubt the honesty of his words, since although that year he had hardly been in trainings, last year he had many more to see the dynamic and determined way in which Atsumu moved when he was on his broom, and if he thought there was someone who could approach Oikawa in relation to talent, was him. “Don’t get me wrong, we want Slytherin to win, but we are both sure that next year will be better.”

"When the seventh-years are gone." Yahaba thought aloud.

“Smart,” Atsumu gave him a simple smile, “Both Kuroo and Oikawa decided to focus on both you and Futakuchi, while my brother and I weren’t even asked why we were missing because they didn’t hesitate to assume that Osamu is because he prefers to do other things instead of being on his broom, and that I prefer to deal with my ego myself. We are not a team, regardless of whether the focus is on you or Futakuchi. We are not. We have skilled players among whom some have a connection with each other, but what is a team if not everyone feels the same way?”

Yahaba watched him, realizing that Futakuchi and he had never really been the team's only problem, since it was enough to think about the way Bokuto and Daichi cared about their players, and the way Akaashi related to each of the people who made up his team, to realize that Kuroo and Oikawa handled the team in a completely different way. He didn’t know if a good or bad one.

Just different.

“Do you think Bokuto, Daichi, or Akaashi would have let that happen?”

He understood that Atsumu thought the same as he did when he pointed his arm with his head, and Yahaba rested a hand on his injured arm.

He knew that Kuroo hadn’t intended for anything to happen and probably didn’t even have the guilt because he had been the one to overreact, but he also knew that the other three captains of the teams under no circumstances would have allowed the fragmentation of the team and the players that composed it, to reach such a level as they had achieved.

"Aren’t we Slytherins supposed to be loyal?” Yahaba asked.

Atsumu smiled sideways when he heard him. “Don't forget about our self-preservation.”

Futakuchi had lied.

Kuroo had chosen them as players even though they didn’t participate in the training sessions or showed interest in the team, only after thinking that they would get angry with him should he leave them with the other substitutes.

Oikawa had accepted his role as vice-captain.

Both Atsumu and Osamu were already thinking about next year.

And being in the infirmary, he himself showed that he still didn’t want to face anyone.

The blond next to him was right.

There were many characteristics that determined them.

And even though he had never thought that he would have to see himself as part of the rumor that professed that Slytherins always shared a tendency for a non-corresponded love, as well as he never believed that he would be part of the list of people whose feelings only fought among them; he knew he didn’t want to stop being loyal.

But loyal to whom? Or to what?

A fragmented team? To his own self? To the idea of a future?

"The Sorting Hat said that in Slytherin I would find my true friends." Yahaba began to say, being watched attentively by Atsumu. “But I don’t know what to think anymore.”

The blond simply smiled as he repeatedly moved his hand in front of him to get his attention, getting Yahaba to look at him.

“Don’t exaggerate. Futakuchi is still your best friend, and you have me and Osamu. Oikawa, perhaps, has apparently done some of his with you, but even if he doesn’t say it, surely you are his favorite kouhai. Even on the same level as Kindaichi and that is saying a lot. We are your friends, you have us. You know you have us. You know that better than anyone else.“ Atsumu assured him, and Yahaba let out a sigh, remembering all the previous times where some of his housemates had been there for him, to keep him company and not allow him to think the worst of himself. “We are housemates. We are friends. You don’t need a team to confirm that.”

“There is no team.”

“I know I told you that Osamu and I don’t believe that this team is for us, but if you and Kuroo have discussed, it’s because both of you need a team.”

“Teammates before team.”

“Teammates before team.” Atsumu repeated.

Yahaba did a small caress on his own injured arm.

To form a team, they must first show that they were teammates. First they had to construct the bases on which a possible team could be formed. The necessary thing was for everyone to understand each other, to talk, and for communication not to be a problem. But he no longer belonged to the team, and as much as it bothered him that Futakuchi had lied to him, he wouldn’t tell his secrets to everyone else; so the first thing he had to do before considering joining the team again, was asking himself how willing he was to consider that his housemates were also his friends. 

* * *

'Akaashi there’s no one prettier than you!'

'Akaashi you are the smartest person I know!'

'Akaashi there’s no one like you!'

'Akaashi you're the reason I'm always smiling!'

Akaashi had no idea what Ennoshita had done to make Bokuto go from yelling at him about everything he had to do to be the captain of his team during the game they had played, to exclaiming all that repertoire of phrases every time he saw him. When he went in and out of classes, before and after being in the Great Hall, when he was walking down the hall, and when he was studying or at least making the attempt because he was interrupted. Wherever he was, Bokuto always appeared to break his day with some of the phrases he had begun to tell him from that first time he had spoken when he had been with Ennoshita. More than a week had passed since he had exclaimed the first sentence in front of him, and since that time, he hadn’t spent a single day without hearing Bokuto's voice assuring him that he was his favorite person, being in the Ravenclaw Tower the only times he managed to concentrate without interruptions.

He had never reacted more than holding his same expression of always, since in addition, Bokuto always left running in some direction after releasing some of his phrases in an exalted and cheerful way. But that day the situation seemed to have changed, because instead of disappearing after speaking to him in a hurry, the seventh-year remained with Akaashi without waiting for him to say something, maybe because that day turned out to be Akaashi's birthday.

Bokuto's favorite day.

Unlike Kenma, Akaashi did like to celebrate his birthday if it was something small, but calm was what he was least getting because since he had got up and left the common room of his house, Bokuto had accompanied his congratulations with the highest tone of voice he had ever used, making everyone in the Great Hall to know that it was his birthday, along with a big morning hug that made Ennoshita laugh and Kenma felt sorry for his roommate.

He had managed to have some moments of calm when he was present in the classes that day.

'Akaashi, today is the best day because it's your birthday!'

But he lost them again as soon as he was in the corridor.

'Akaashi, the world is beautiful since you exist!'

Ennoshita continued laughing every time he was present when Bokuto appeared to talk to his best friend, who knew that was beginning to lose his patience even if his expression didn’t change and continued as usual. He had freed a beast eager to make his roommate happy, and he was more than proud to have been the one to liberate the seventh-year's side he knew Bokuto had always carried inside.

'Akaashi, your eyes are the only thing I want to see for the rest of my life!'

The one mentioned in all the sentences had barely managed to concentrate on the classes he had attended that day and decided that he couldn’t continue to be in the library unless he wanted to be thrown out for life, when Bokuto continued to adore him with words no matter what he had to do or be silent because he was in that place of the castle, and he didn’t doubt that Ennoshita had left him alone on purpose so that Bokuto could walk by his side without stopping talking at any time. But although he had become accustomed to hearing the seventh-year because he had interrupted his serenity for more than a week to let him know that he had no problem in showing him how much he loved him with words, that day Akaashi's reservation of patience was really reaching its point limit.

He wanted to concentrate and couldn’t.

He wanted to study and couldn’t.

He wanted to do the corresponding homework and couldn’t.

And all because a boy with bicolor hair had become obsessed with expressing out loud everything that he liked about him. And although anyone who saw them from afar would think that he had stopped listening to the one next to him after he had mentioned the repertoire of phrases of the day, Akaashi had never failed to pay attention to the boy who at that moment continued to walk by his side while he let lose all the talk about how much he liked the dark color of his hair and the way it matched the bluish tint of his eyes.

The Ravenclaw felt that soon his whole body would be covered in a blush unless Bokuto opted to shut up, which he didn’t see as possible since he had been doing it for a week. Every exclamation in his favor was established in his head to build a pile with all the words that the seventh-year had said about him, totally safe and without any doubt. And since he had never stopped listening to him, Akaashi noticed the small change in the tone of voice that accompanied the following phrases that left Bokuto's mouth as they continued walking down the hall.

“Happy birthday, Akaashi.”

It wasn’t the first time he had said it in the day and it was probably the phrase he had heard the most since he got up, but it was the first time Bokuto expressed it without shouting and without waving his arms in the air totally enthusiastic.

“You are the best captain a team could have.”

Athough his first instinct had been to turn his head towards him, Akaashi glanced at him.

After having listened to him during a whole game say how he should lead his team and how he should act after being the main guide of his players, he was surprised to hear him formulate that phrase, which also had a special meaning considering that Bokuto was also a team captain, as well as Kuroo, who was his closest best friend, so he was really congratulating Akaashi by saying it out loud.

“You are the most perfect person I know.”

Finally a reddish hue appeared on Akaashi's cheeks.

For the first time in several days, Bokuto walked very quietly by his side. Without opening his mouth to express in a hurry what he felt nor with a high tone of voice so that everyone could hear him, because the only one who he wanted to hear him, was right at his side.

“You are the perfect person for me.”

Akaashi's heart began to throb quickly, and continuing to walk didn’t prevent his hands from shaking or feeling his cheeks get hotter and hotter.

“I don’t even have to think why I like you.”

Although until now they had been slowing their pace, both stopped. Akaashi watched Bokuto knowing that his cheeks were probably pink and that his arm that kept a couple of books next to his chest, was the only thing that prevented him from being a tremor in its place.

And Bokuto sighed.

There was only one more sentence to say that so far he hadn’t expressed out loud. And he knew that he should say it not only because he wanted to, but also because finally he had to make clear to Akaashi everything that he caused to him.

He looked up to see the Ravenclaw staring at him, and he couldn’t prevent a clumsy but calm smile to appear on his face when the mere fact of seeing Akaashi caused him to have those reactions.

“I like you.” He finally confessed.

And Akaashi couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

He felt as if all of Bokuto's words hadn’t only filled every nook and cranny of his head, managing to displace all the moments in which he had uttered a phrase he hadn’t liked; but also as if each word had been drawn in the different parts of his body that he had appreciated with his prayers. He felt as if each of Bokuto's words had been written on his skin, and even though he didn’t know if he agreed with everything Bokuto had said about him, he did believe that he was the perfect person to shut him up.

And he did.

After having spent a full week listening to all those phrases that had been accumulating both in his head and in his heart, he finally managed to get silence when he stopped being on his place and achieved to get the other one to be quiet after he tugged at Bokuto's tie to join his lips to his. Suddenly the beating of his heart was the only thing he could hear, which he only felt that continued to accelerate when Bokuto didn’t move away and honored all his words by sliding a hand under his gray sweater to rest his hand on his waist, skin that although was still under a white shirt, anyway reacted looking for that contact of warmth that had quickly spread throughout his body. He felt that his back was rested against something flat and that his other hand was released when he learned that Bokuto had thrown to the ground the books he had been holding, giving him the opportunity to place his now free hand on the neck of the one who kept his lips busy in something more than pronouncing words, kissing him, making him want the satisfaction that his body felt as well as the nervousness of their movements and the rapid beating of his heart not to disappear. He didn’t want Bokuto to stop keeping his lips trapped with his own nor the encounter of their tongues that Akaashi couldn’t even remember at what point it had started. He didn’t want to separate from him, let alone stop kissing him, and he didn’t knew how to feel when he felt one of Bokuto's legs between his own, but his body gave him the answer when his throat made a sound rip, that at the end was moderately breathed out loud and  without any obstacle since Bokuto stopped keeping their mouths together only to gently bite his bottom lip before sliding his head to begin kissing his neck without the same calmness.

And although Akaashi knew that what they were doing was wrong because they were in the middle of the hall in where although there was no one, they couldn’t rule out that someone suddenly appeared, however he bit his lower lip when he felt a surge of exaltation come from his neck when Bokuto stimulated that part of his body with his mouth, although he promptly returned to formulate a string of words.

"You're the one I like to spend my time with," Bokuto whispered over his skin, making it bristle, before again joining their mouths for a short but exasperating kiss, his voice having stopped being toned in an entertaining way or followed by a laugh, nor sounding calm as sometimes happened. But in a different way to all the previous ones, more serious, as well as more pleasant to hear, “You're the one I like to sleep with," He murmured over his lips before resting his lips on his again, making the grip on his tie less and less strong as well as for Akaashi to crave that closeness to which he wasn't opposing, even if he was the one who had initiated and didn’t regret it at all, “You are the one I like to surround with my arms," He added before returning to join their mouths to avoid wasting time.

A long silence settled between them as they continued kissing as if they had waited a long time to do so and finally they were given the opportunity, their lips getting familiar without wasting a second although they weren’t in a hurry and their tongues attracted with nature. They were the two of them and no one else, they were the plea of two people who had understood in different ways that they were needed and that they had decided to listen to the prayers of their emotions in the same way. They were the meeting of previously repressed emotions that had finally chosen to emerge and be united showing that they were the same.

Bokuto ran his thumb along the lower lip that was already swollen and a darker color from being merged with his, while Akaashi remained silent, his chest rising and falling to recover the air he had forgotten to inhale after being busy, and Bokuto finally took his eyes from those lips he had long waited to savor with his own, to concentrate on the beseeching blue gaze that only fixed on his, and opened his mouth only to be interrupted.

“Hey! You two!”

The intense atmosphere between the two was quickly replaced by one of uneasiness when both heard that voice to which the two didn’t hesitate to separate, being Akaashi the quickest to react, because whether he was kissing him or not, Bokuto didn’t concentrate on anything or no one else when he was with him, which explained why the younger remained ahead of him, being the only one ashamed while Bokuto stayed almost behind him, taking the opportunity to place his hand, the one he had previously been resting against the wall above Akaashi's head, surreptitiously under the younger's sweater to left it in the lower part of his back, which only made the blush on Akaashi's cheeks that was due to both what they had been doing and forgetting they were in a corridor, to continue to grow.

In front of them, Coach Ukai stared at them.

"I don’t want to give you detention, but I have to, so I'll tell you what to do next," He expressed, making the two teenagers in front of him, especially Akaashi, feel grateful that he was the one who had interrupted them instead of another teacher who wouldn’t have hesitated to give them more than one detention for having found them kissing in that way, or a student through whom everyone in the castle would end up learning about what they had seen after walking in that hallway at the right time. “Now I understand why you took so long when you only had to shake your hands before the match," The adult mumbled to himself before turning and leaving, “Teens.”

Akaashi remained motionless, debating whether he was more embarrassed by the fact that he knew he could never see that adult in the eye again, because he had been found kissing another student in the middle of one of the corridors, or because he had allowed himself to forget everything and everyone around him so he could stay focused on all the sensations that Bokuto's lips and body next to his had made him feel. Emotions that returned to his body when a hand slid from his shoulder down his arm to reach his hand so that then the three books he had previously held were again in his possession.

"And you're definitely the one I like to kiss." He heard.

Those words made him swallow with heaviness and feel his cheeks continue to heat as well as his skin bristle, but if they would start playing outside the Quidditch pitch, then it would be a fair game, and he didn’t plan to lose as he had had during the match, so he stopped turning his back on him to make their lips remain a millimeter away from meeting, and being his books the only thing to prevent their bodies to be fully attached to each other. And although he wanted nothing more to join his mouth with his because he knew that Bokuto licked his lips purposely after having glimpsed that his eyes were on them, he didn’t allow himself to be tempted, but to be the tempter.

"Throw my books one more time, and you are dead man," He breathed on his lips before looking up to rest his bluish gaze on amber eyes that turned out to be as lustful as amazed and amused. Akaashi gave him a slow kiss at the corner of his mouth before giving him a fleeting touch on his cheek that slipped to his neck before deciding to separate from him to pass by his side and finally walk to the other side of the corridor, knowing that on his back was that look that continued to shine only for him regardless of his actions. It was his birthday, and besides considering that he had received the best gift, his wish had also been fulfilled.

Akaashi covered his face with the three books to close his eyes and hold a clumsy smile while he kept feeling his cheeks heating up, and only laughed when he knew that he would have to admit that Ennoshita had been right, and that therefore, his feelings were reciprocated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Yaku wants peace, and Yahaba honesty.


	40. Chapter 40

Yaku mentally threw Daichi off his broom.

It was his fault that at that moment he was sitting in one of the benches in the hall, with a book in his hands which he had stopped paying attention to several minutes ago, since he couldn’t stop thinking about the words he had crossed with his roommate.

_"So you're saying that if Lev wasn’t a fifth-year, you would agree to be with him?'_

A grimace appeared on his face as soon as he realized that he mentally didn’t answer that question with a denial free of doubt, because although he didn’t want to talk with Daichi about the matter because he still wasn’t sure how he felt, that didn’t prevent him to hold a conversations with his own self, which explained why the book in his hands seemed to have been forgotten, as he kept thinking that as much as he didn’t want to accept Daichi was right after having said that Lev was obsessed with him because he allowed him to be, since instead of kicking him out he allowed him to stay by his side, he spoiled him by letting him be with him and surprising him the way he did whenever he appeared expressing that for some reason or other he had sought him out.

But although Daichi had spoken truthfully, so did him.

That was his last year at Hogwarts, and he didn’t want to concentrate on anything that had nothing to do with the exams he had to pass, and the results he expected to decide what to do with his future once the walls of the castle and the different places of it ceased being his permanent refuge, so he didn’t have time to get distracted by sudden emotions that would only make him stay unfocus on the tasks he had to perform and on the essays he had to write.

Just like at that time.

He shook his head to stop looking like he was lost and blinked several times before holding the book more securely and reverting his eyes to it, although he could only get a quick glance at the pages because his eyes were quickly rested on the green look of the one who had sat next to him no matter if there were other benches available, other corridors with the same benches, or many other places in the castle to take a seat. And he raised an eyebrow when he saw a huge smile on his face.

“Why are you smiling so much?” He asked.

Lev continued in silence at the same time that his smile widened after coming even closer to him, being impossible for Yaku to get away from him because he was already on the edge of the bench and would only managed to fall on the floor in case of taking distance.

“What are you doing?” He asked when he saw him reduce the space between them.

"I’m lending you my arm, Yaku-san," Lev answered innocently.

The seventh-year remained totally serious after realizing that Lev didn’t seem to plan to let him forget that a few nights ago he had rested his head on his arm after being totally distracted by the moment and to let go in a moment of weakness. It had only been a minimum contact established between the two, but just as he had told Daichi, he thought that having allowed himself to rest his head on Lev’s arm had been a mistake.

"It's funny that your head doesn’t reach my shoulder even if we're sitting," Lev added.

And with those words, the smile on Lev's face was replaced by a grimace of pain when Yaku chose to give him a blow to the arm with the book he had been reading, or at least made the attempt. And the youngest of them rubbed that part of his body while the other one rested the book between them to establish a certain kind of distance.

“What are you doing here, Lev?” He asked.

“I saw you, and I have nothing better to keep you company,"

Yaku remained unsurprised knowing that there were no ulterior motives in the words of the fifth-year boy, who was totally sincere without even realizing it, which also explained why he always won a blow on his part, and that was completely honest regardless of what situation he was in, being those some of the reasons of why Yaku didn’t look at him like he look at the rest.

Suddenly he shook his head as he realized what he was thinking.

"I have to study, Lev," He said, resting the open book on his lap.

“I'll be quiet.”

“We both know that is not possible.”

The gray-haired one tightened his lips before joining the tips of his thumb and forefinger and forming a line with those above his lips, indicating that he wouldn’t release any words so that the one next to him could concentrate. But as much as he was silent, Yaku knew that that wasn’t the problem of his distraction.

Lev smiled broadly to show that he could remain without saying a word.

“Lev...”

The aforementioned raised his hands innocently, indicating that he really wouldn’t leave and would remain without saying a word.

The seventh-year knew that the problem wasn’t that his presence bothered him, but quite the opposite, so he gave up when Lev continued with his green eyes on him, and decided to sit closer to him to do what he knew that would later make him regret and again complain to his roommate. He rested his forehead on the arm of the one sitting next to him, and pretended to be focusing on the pages of the book, knowing that he was only concentrating on hating himself for feeling extremely secure though intrigued when he was with Lev. 

* * *

Yahaba crossed out all the drawings of the same number he had done with enough force to look like he wanted to break the scroll instead of just erasing those numbers, suddenly letting it stop and suppressing a grimace of annoyance when he felt his hurt arm scold him for having been keeping his hand in a fist and therefore tensioning his body.

“What are you doing?” Futakuchi asked, who was sitting in front of him.

"Nothing." He lied.

He returned to rest his head in the palm of his other hand while he visualized all the studs he had produced on his parchment after having wanted to eliminate those numbers from the date of that day that beyond his grief, he continued to consider extremely important. But he didn’t hesitate to finish ruining the parchment after raising it with a touch of his wand so that it began to burn in small flames while it was in the air, making his best friend interspersed his boring gaze between the carbonized paper and him.

Since he had gotten up he had felt a great discomfort in his stomach just as a headache had been bothering him since he had taken his head off his pillow. He felt completely discouraged and knew that he could only blame a person to whom he couldn’t scream how exasperated he felt because he was totally absent. He was extremely tired and at the same time he wanted to scream. He wanted to release the frustration of his body and the anger that had taken over his expression. He didn’t like to think about what he felt or realize that the emotions he hated to feel were still part of him no matter how many times he tried to get rid of those feelings. His state of mind had been in free fall since he had woken up, and he knew that none of his problems were side effects of the multiple small injuries in his arms as well as the larger cut that was still covered by a gauze wrapped around his forearm.

Although he could consider that the boy in front of him certainly had to do with the gauze on his arm, who continued to give him a simple look. Yahaba knew that the two still had a pending talk about what had led him to have his arm hurt, and he didn’t want to continue allowing time to pass without saying anything when he felt betrayed.

“Why do you lie to me?” He asked him.

Futakuchi watched him in silence for a few seconds before lowering his eyes back to his own parchment. "I don’t know what you're talking about." He murmured in response.

The date of that day wasn’t the only thing that brought Yahaba to be in a bad mood. Maybe he could cross out all the numbers seven he had drawn in different ways on the patch, but he couldn’t cross out everything his discussion with Kuroo had allowed him to understand.

“Why did you never tell me that Kuroo doesn’t know that you like him?”

Futakuchi glared at him as soon as he heard him.

“Why do you imply it?”

"Because I was stupid because of you." He answered.

Since Ennoshita had appeared to surprise him in the library, Yahaba had understood that his best friend had apparently been hiding several things from him as well as lying in his own face for quite some time. Not only because he had learned through the Ravenclaw vice-captain that Futakuchi had been the one to charm Kunimi, but because he had also discovered that the reason why Futakuchi had told him that he wouldn’t accept Kuroo as captain might turn out not to be so true as he had thought. Because contrary to what everyone thought, at no time did he and Futakuchi believe that Oikawa was more apt for the role of the captain than who currently occupied that position, and even believed that it was more convenient for the team than Kuroo was since they both believed that he was a great quidditch player and that he could be a great leader with respect to the other players. So the reluctant attitude of them towards Kuroo being the chosen captain wasn’t due to a preference of seventh year people, but to another reason that Futakuchi had apparently invented for Yahaba to be on his side when he demonstrated being against having Kuroo as captain.

Futakuchi hadn’t hesitated to tell him that he was attracted to the seventh-year before the start of the academic year, and apparently to lie to him after telling him that he had confessed to Kuroo what he felt for him, only to be rejected by a string of words that had reduced him and changed part of his opinion about him. Futakuchi had lied to him when he told him that he had confessed to Kuroo what he felt, and to have assured him that the seventh-year had treated him badly after learning about his feelings, not caring what kind of feelings he had and without considering how much could cost a person to be honest about their emotions. Futakuchi had lied to him no matter how he saw the situation. And therefore, Yahaba thought that he had been left as a complete fool after having realized that he had been treating the captain of his team in a bad way for a lie in which his best friend had caught him, since being the person closest to him, Yahaba hadn’t hesitated to act in a distant way with Kuroo after learning that he had acted in the same way towards his best friend, or in bothering Kuroo for having hurt Futakuchi, just as Futakuchi hadn’t doubted to continue lying to him until he realized the thruth by himself.

Yahaba understood that his best had lied to him after Kuroo remained completely confused once Futakuchi left when the seventh-year asked him why he had bewitched Kunimi, and it hadn’t been until that moment in the Great Hall, sitting in front of him, that he understood the real reason why Futakuchi had done what he had done.

“I'm not the only one who has noticed the way Kuroo looks at Kenma, right?”

Futakuchi looked at him again.

“You wanted to bewitch Kenma because you're jealous of him, but it would have been too obvious, so you opted to get angry with another person on his team who would also have consequences after all being in the same house, resulting in Kunimi being your choice because he is the easiest one to aim during a match." Yahaba expressed.

The fact that his best friend tightened his lips while continuing in silence showed him that he was only telling the truth.

“I simply don’t understand why you lie to me.”

Futakuchi continued without saying a word, and both stared at each other for a long time. Yahaba had understood that he had lied to him as well as that he had been the person to enchant Kunimi, and all because he liked Kuroo and he didn’t like him, but there was still something that he still didn’t understand.

“I'm your best friend. You can come to me no matter what time it is and no matter how you feel. I will always try to help you," Yahaba began to say, “But it really bothered me that you lie to me. I am your best friend and I showed it to you by turning my back on the rest of the team, treating Kuroo in the worst way when in reality I never had any reason to do so. Don’t get me wrong, I would do it again in case he really hurt you because you are important to me and I would make life impossible for anyone who bothers you or treats you badly. But you lied to me, and more than once, so I'm pissed off. And I don’t understand why you didn’t simply tell me the truth.”

Futakuchi simply gave him a totally false smile before lowering his gaze to his patch, pretending that it was suddenly completely entertained to watch.

Yahaba looked at him seriously, because after all and somehow, he had also left the team for him, but from his own experience he knew how much it could hurt and bother the fact that a person didn’t correspond to his feelings, since his tears had even made it clear when he had cried in the infirmary with Atsumu by his side. So instead of continuing to ask him why he simply hadn’t told him the truth, he stood up and crossed over the table, to then stand next to his best friend and wrapped his arms around him, feeling the tension with which Futakuchi's body counted.

“I just want you to know that I’m here for you." Yahaba said, resting his chin on his head while his arms remained crossed in front of his chest.

Futakuchi remained totally tense even though his best friend had embraced him, and he removed his eyes from the patch to observe the part of the gauze on Yahaba’s arm that peeked out from under his sweater, but then rested his hand on his best friend’s as well as also one of his cheeks on his arm.

“I just want some time alone, okay?”

Yahaba formed a small pout with his lips, since he didn’t want to leave his best friend knowing that he would probably only continue to fight with himself after only being accompanied by his thoughts, but anyway he murmured an affirmation before he stopped hugging him. His hand separated from his, and although he just wanted to sit next to him, he reached out to hang his backpack over his shoulder.

Yahaba simply gave him a look before leaving the Great Hall, and sighed as soon as he crossed the doors. He wasn’t having a good day already and he didn’t want Futakuchi to remain alone but he didn’t want lies to be the only thing that kept leaving his mouth, so he forced himself to walk so as not to retrace his steps, since he also knew that being alone sometimes helped too.

It only had been clear to him that all the actions Futakuchi had carried out, had been because his feelings weren’t reciprocated, just as no matter how much time had passed, he himself was still not able to let go of the fact that what he felt wasn’t received by who he wanted either. But he didn’t want to again start to immerse himself in his bubble of thoughts that he knew would only managed to lead him to feel bad, so it only took him a few seconds to decide to approach the boy he saw sitting on the railing that connected the columns that surrounded one of the interior gardens of the castle.

He pulled one of the books out of his backpack, and he stretched out his arms with the book in his hands so as not to hesitate to drop it on that part of the Ravenclaw’s body, making him afraid of the interruption as he rubbed his head when he received a sudden hard blow. He first looked at the book that fell beside him, then looked up to see Yahaba staring at him, and his eyes finally stopped at the small red lines on one of his arms as well as at the gauze that covered the other one.

"That is the book I could have studied in case you hadn’t interrupted me to accuse me of something I didn’t do." The Slytherin stated as soon as he saw that the other had opened his mouth to speak, and Ennoshita didn’t doubt to forget the injuries he had seen in his body to pretend to ignore him after turning his eyes over in his own book that he kept resting in his lap.

Yahaba slipped one leg over the railing and then the other to finally sit next to him and pick up the book that he himself had dropped on the other's head before, and knew he wouldn’t get rid of the question for a second chance when once again, Ennoshita had taken his eyes off his book to look at his arms.

“What happened to you?” He asked.

“My body hurt itself because it sensed that today I would spend time with you.”

“Do you think about me since you wake up?” Ennoshita rested his hands crossways near his heart as well as pretended to hold an expression of a person in love, “I hope you don’t think of me when you do other actions with your body," He added, replacing the previous expression to wink at him, to which Yahaba raised an eyebrow as he smiled sideways, “But seriously though, what happened to you?” He finally asked, abandoning any expression formulated with falsehood so that his look was serious as well as his face.

“Worried about me?” Yahaba asked, but rolled his eyes as soon as Ennoshita assured him that he wouldn’t listen to his sarcasm so as not to be distracted. “What have you heard?” He decided to say.

“Well, two girls in the Great Hall said you defended someone from Peeves, a Gryffindor in my class said that you hit every person who crossed your path, and in the hallway I heard two of your house whisper that they heard screams,“ Ennoshita enumerated the rumors that he had heard about the reason for the injuries in Yahaba’s arms, because even though each house was represented by certain characteristics, if there was something that united all the students besides attending classes in the castle, was the fanaticism for inventing rumors as well as dispersing them, sometimes allowing the original version to be extended, and other times making the truth extort to a complete turn.

“See?” Yahaba held a small smile, “In the end we Slytherins are the most honest.”

“So you did shout.”

“Yeah,” The one whose hair each time had more grayish strands instead of browns, suddenly rested his gaze in any part of the inner garden. ”I left the team.”

“What? Why?” Ennoshita asked immediately.

He didn’t expect to hear those words.

"Kuroo practically invited me to do it," Yahaba replied lowering his eyes for a few seconds and then looking at the boy in front of him only to realize that he was holding a sudden expression of regret on his face. “And what is it with you now?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You fought for what I said?”

“What do you think?”

The expression on Ennoshita's face deepened and he formed a line with his lips after hearing that his way of dealing with the problem with Kunimi had led to Yahaba leaving the Slytherin quidditch team.

"Sorry, I never thought you'd leave the team," He expressed, “Go back! I want to defeat you!” He added, replacing his guilty expression with one of a capricious child.

"You're not making the situation any better," Yahaba looked at him as he thought about how it was possible for the boy next to him to go through so many emotions in such a short time, but he didn’t hesitate to continue speaking when he visualized that his capricious attitude was again being replaced by guilt, and he gave a slight kick to his ankle with his foot. “I didn’t fight with Kuroo just because of your words. It was a conjunction of things, don’t feel guilty.”

Ennoshita gave him a small smile before resting his eyes on the ground while Yahaba watched him wondering why the boy in front of him seemed to feel as guilty as at the time he had worried what he thought of him, since both had declared themselves enemies and shouldn’t worry about each other, not to mention that besides, knowing that Futakuchi had been the one to charm Kunimi, their houses basically had the reasons to develop a war with each other.

"Although you can consider yourself guilty because you interrupt my study and corner me against a wall," Yahaba added so that Ravenclaw would stop holding that expression, since he preferred to listen to his annoying voice, just as sarcastic to his before he continued in silence since there couldn’t be a fight if it was only him with a monologue. “You know I could report you to the student union, right?

“Do we have that?” Immediately, Ennoshita raised his eyes to allow Yahaba to catch a glimpse of a confused expression on his face that also allowed him to observe that the Ravenclaw couldn’t believe how that detail had escaped him.

"No." Yahaba held a satisfied smile when Ennoshita looked at him with narrowed eyes, “But I would make one only to be able to denounce you." His smile continued to grow when Ennoshita stopped looking at him to frown and cross his arms to pretend to be offended. “How come you're in Ravenclaw if you're not as smart as I thought you were?” He asked, shifting his gaze to the blue and gray stripes of the scarf he wore.

"I'm flattered that you think I'm smart." Ennoshita murmured.

He managed to gain a second blow provided with a book in his head, and although he continued with a frown while rubbing that part of his body, his expression softened after learning that Yahaba, who had appeared to interrupt his reading time, was right, so he closed his book to observe him.

"I can’t believe you thought I was the one who bewitched Kunimi." Yahaba said.

"I'm sorry," Ennoshita expressed honestly.

He was aware of how much he had been wrong and of all the mistakes he had made. He wasn’t proud of the words he had said or of the way he had faced the one who was sitting next to him at the time, and he thought that he had the right to be angry with him, since he had really failed not trying to accuse him only by simple assumptions and even confirming that the injuries in his arms were partly due to the words he had mentioned, so he was surprised when he heard him speak again.

“Why you don’t bother me anymore?” Yahaba asked.

Ennoshita didn’t wait for Yahaba to realize that he had stopped being obsessed with the idea of bothering him and ruin his quiet moments every time he saw him reading in the hall, in a bench or in the library. He hadn’t realized all the time he spent teasing him until Kenma had asked him to stop doing it and because Yahaba had just confirmed that there had been several moments when he had interrupted him with his presence and sarcastic comments.

“Awww, I knew that deep down you loved me, Shigeru.”

The Ravenclaw held both of his hands to his chest and pretended to be extremely excited while the one next to him rolled his eyes.

"Don’t call me by my name." He expressed, sitting on his side so he could lean his back against the column behind him and flex one leg to raise it and rest his foot on the railing.

"Fine, I'll reserve to do it by the time we're married because you're apparently obsessed with me." Ennoshita winked at him with a conquering smile.

Yahaba only raised an eyebrow before speaking. “It can be that you don’t bother me anymore because you have realized that it’s not useful to do it in order to continue to make the Slytherin team disintegrate?” He asked, and smiled triumphantly when Ennoshita looked at him with his eyes wide open, “We Slytherins don’t need to be in the same common room as you or wear blue to be as smart as you, Ravenclaw.” He stated, still smiling with satisfaction, “Although I'm not upset, I'm even surprised.”

“Surprised?”

"You should have sought to generate faults elsewhere to bring down the team from within, instead of where there already was a large crack without chances to fix,” He explained, letting Ennoshita know that it wouldn’t have been good to try to play with him psychologically as well as with Futakuchi just because they had both been against Kuroo since the beginning. “Seriously, how come you're in Ravenclaw?” He asked, realizing that all the times Ennoshita had interrupted him while he had been reading in one of the inner gardens had made him want to throw all the bludgers at him, and not the opposite that it was what he had sought to do.

Ennoshita stuck out his tongue when he heard him. “Can I ask you a question?” He asked, looking serious.

"You must refer to two because you have already made one." Yahaba replied.

“You really manage for me to wish it was your mouth the hurt one.”

“For what? So you don’t feel tempted to kiss me?”

"You wish," Ennoshita replied smiling, but then he returned to hold an expression free of emotion. “How can you be friends with someone like that?” He asked, making Yahaba also hold an expression similar to his because he knew who he was talking to even though he didn’t mention it. “It’s not right what he did.”

The Slytherin wouldn’t tell him that the reason why Futakuchi had decided to cast a spell on Kunimi wasn’t because he had something personal against him, but because Kenma was the person he was really jealous of because Kuroo was resting his attention on him instead of he, and both Kenma and Kunimi turned out to be from the same house and therefore team, so it had basically been a side effect spell influenced by non-reciprocal feelings.

"It's not right either that you had approached me to try to manipulate me so that I separated from my team and created more problems," Yahaba said, looking at him, “Just as many of the things that I have done aren’t right either. None of us are free from guilt.”

“But I would never hex someone.”

“And neither do I, but not all of us think or are equal.”

Ennoshita didn’t need to look at him to know that it was obvious that there was something that Yahaba didn’t want to tell unless Futakuchi had decided to charm Kunimi because he was bored or the game hadn’t been interesting and he hadn’t found to do anything but enchant one of the players. But reality was that at least they had already discovered that it was him and not the boy next to him who had done it, which made him feel calm because he could again see Yahaba as a person to bother, until he realized that one detail had changed.

"Go back to the team," He asked him, as if both belonged to the same one.

"You're obsessed with me," Yahaba saw him with a small smile, but stopped holding it as soon as Ennoshita observed him asking him with his eyes that he really considered being part of the Quidditch team in his house again. “I don’t know if I can go back.”

“You want to go back?”

The Slytherin didn’t plan to deny that he evidently wanted to be part of his team again, not only because the idea of facing Ennoshita within the Quidditch field as well as throwing all the bludgers at him was the best image his mind could have to offer him, but also because quidditch was his favorite sport, and although he hadn’t shown it since the tournament had started, he liked to play alongside those who were part of the team because he believed that they were all skilled players, possessing great abilities that it made it possible for Slytherin to win the championship no matter they had lost the first game, which he was one of the reasons why they had done it. In addition, his actions during the game had been influenced by the lies that Futakuchi had submerged him in, and although he still didn’t get along in the best way with everyone who made up the team, and even at that time he wasn’t in a good situation with the two leaders of the team, anyway he wanted to have a new opportunity to show that he was a good beater and that he could be a clever player when he was motivated.

“Yes.” He answered.

"Then that's enough for you to go back," Ennoshita assured him, “Besides, if you aren’t on the team, why would I continue to talk to you if I can no longer search for Ravenclaw to become the champion after trying to manipulate you in my favor and therefore make you end up being my source of information within your own team?” He added moving his shoulders in a funny way as well as rubbing his hands in an exaggerated and strange way while laughing in an evil way.

"You're just giving me reasons to stay out of the team."

Ennoshita gave a real laugh after not doubting that he had given a rare image of himself, and the Yahaba smiled sideways with no intention other than to smile because the boy next to him entertained him.

"Start bothering me," The Ravenclaw said, looking at him with a calm smile on his face, “It's fun to have someone to fight with," He added before opening the book he had left so far to refocus his attention on it.

Yahaba watched him, and chose to heed him when he tried to push him by resting his foot on his arm, holding a big, entertaining smile when Ennoshita looked at him in a bad way and shook his tunic so that there was no impression of his footprint.  He knew that he wanted to go back to the team but that he still didn’t know how he would approach Oikawa and Kuroo if they didn’t do it first, but the fact that Ravenclaw asked him to go back so they could hold a personal battle on the quidditch field too, excited him too much to think in refusing to remain without being part of the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Kuroo has pending talks.


	41. Chapter 41

The two Slytherins continued to stare at each other.

“Why did you decide not to tell any professor?” Kindaichi asked.

Having learned that Futakuchi had been the one to charm Kunimi, although he hadn’t received any explanation as to why he had done so, Kuroo had considered all the options he had before him. He could talk to Coach Ukai to tell him what happened and therefore get everyone to know about the matter, he could throw Futakuchi out of the team because he had the reasons to do it but he didn’t want a second person to leave the team, he could remain silent, or decide to carry out the fourth option he had considered.

Since Akaashi was the captain of the team that had been affected by the actions of Futakuchi and one of his players had been the one to be the target, he chose to chat with him so that both could arrive at a decision all together, so he didn’t object when the Ravenclaw captain said that the best was to leave the matter in the past so that no one else would find out about what happened if Kunimi also agreed. Kuroo accepted the terms, and decided that it was also a good idea for him to talk with the only fifth-year of his team, since Kindaichi was Kunimi's best friend and would want an answer about what had happened.

Kuroo explained to him why they had agreed not to talk anything to the adults, and that what happened would be forgotten unless Kunimi wanted the opposite.

“I know you're angry. And I would be too if someone bothered my best friend.”

“Not bothered him. He bewitched him." Kindaichi corrected him.

It was evident that he wasn’t satisfied with how the situation had been fixed, since he remained serious as well as with his arms crossed even if he had his broom with him.

“I get it. Nobody considers that what he did is right, and I know you much less," Kuroo expressed, not doubting that the fifth-year wasn’t happy with his words, “Akaashi will talk to Kunimi, but you can also do it if you want. I only ask you not to look for a fight with Futakuchi.”

Kindaichi rolled his eyes as soon as he heard him. “Why? So the team doesn’t go down even more?” He asked, “Why Yahaba-san left the team? Why is he hurt and you and Oikawa-san don’t talk to him? Why is he and Futakuchi-san against the team? Why, if they aren’t interested in the team, then Futakuchi-san made Ravenclaw lose?” Kindaichi continued speaking as he had more and more questions whose answers no one seemed willing to give to him.

"They aren’t against the team, they are against me." Kuroo corrected him.

Because in spite of everything, reality was that.

Kindaichi raised an eyebrow as he watched the seventh-year observe the floor.

"It doesn’t matter." He expressed, making Kuroo rest his golden eyes on him, “You are our captain, so if they are against you it means that they are also against us, and apparently against other people from other teams as well." He added, making Kuroo remain surprised because although Kindaichi had never demonstrated himself against him beyond thinking that Oikawa had been chosen as captain, he had become so accustomed to the idea of being rejected as a leader that whenever someone accepted him as such, he remained stupefied.

Why Kindaichi, who was the person on the team who least knew him, accepted him without a doubt while other people didn’t? Kuroo didn’t want to ask questions whose answers he didn’t know. He didn’t want to know if Yahaba had really left the team or only pronounced not to belong to it because he had allowed the anger of the moment to dominate his words, just as irritation had influenced him when he had invited him to leave the team. He didn’t want to know if Futakuchi would also leave the team on his own because his best friend had already left it. He didn’t want to know if his friends from his same year would finally stop avoiding questions and begin to ask him why Yahaba had left the team as well as why they had found the two arguing besides a broken table. He didn’t want to know if the whole team would turn against him in case they knew he had got Yahaba to leave the team.

"I won’t." Suddenly his attention was focused on the fifth-year in front of him. “I won’t look for a fight with Futakuchi-san just because you're not the only one who wants the team to be a real team." The younger stated, demonstrating that although the two barely knew each other, they both wanted the quidditch team to be at its peak. “But don’t expect me to be smiling at him or being kind to him.”

“Have you ever done it?” Kuroo asked along with a small smile.

Kindaichi rolled his eyes again, but the same gesture was noticed on his face too.

It was true that he probably would have never crossed words with Kuroo in case both didn’t belong to the Slytherin quidditch team, but although they barely knew each other, Kindaichi only wanted the best for the older, since Kuroo being in good shape meant that the team would also recomposed itself.

He had joined the Quidditch team because once again he had wanted to share games with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, whom he respected both as his elders, and as players because each one stood out in their own way but helped him in the same. But so far nothing of what he had thought, had become true. He had joined the team thinking that together, they would make Slytherin reign over the other teams, while reality was that they were in the lowest level, and apparently, they just kept digging their own pit.

He wanted to win, he wanted to have fun, he wanted to play.

But he had only gotten problems, misunderstandings, discussions, and moments of tension.

He was upset because he knew he wouldn’t have another year to play along with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and his irritation increased further when he thought that none of them were those causing Slytherin not to be considered an imposing team. So after Kuroo and he went their own way, he frowned when from the other side of the hall he spotted the person he least wanted to cross. He had been carrying his broom because he had arranged to play quidditch with Lev, but instead of continuing to hold it next to his body, and no matter what he had talked with Kuroo until a few minutes ago, he made Futakuchi stumble when he came across him after turning his broom so that the tip of that met the other’s feet, and the sixth-year didn’t hesitate to glare at him when he suddenly found himself on the floor.

“I said I wouldn’t fight with you even if you did what you did. But that doesn’t take away that I'm still completely mad at you, and that if I were a beater instead of a chaser, I wouldn’t doubt to send all the bludgers to you during the two remaining games, and which, I hope, you don’t ruin by pretending to be one of us instead of the seeker." Kindaichi stated.

Maybe he was younger than Futakuchi, but he was in the group of few people who didn’t feel intimidated by him or Yahaba, and considering that Futakuchi had also attacked his best friend, he hadn’t hesitated to express those words seriously. And he didn’t add anything else before continuing walking. Just as Futakuchi didn’t stop him either.

And while the sixth-year remained in complete silence, the two Gryffindors who had sighted the scene after having been throwing the quaffle between them in the inner garden since to them it didn’t matter if they had to move with scarfs around their necks in order to enjoy playing, stopped passing the ball to each other. Kageyama stood with the quaffle in his hands and followed Kindaichi with his gaze, while Hinata interspersed his eyes between them before observing the way Futakuchi got up to go across the aisle.

They hadn’t heard about what they had talked about, but it was clear that they had argued, and that Kindaichi was angry.

“Do you want to go talk with him?” Hinata asked after noticing the way Kageyama had chased Kindaichi with his eyes, although at that moment the black-haired one focused again on him after placing his eyes on him.

"I’m sure I would only make him angrier, and probably hit me in the head with his broom," Kageyama replied before throwing the ball.

Hinata caught the quaffle and left it under his arm instead of throwing it in return. "You've been weird since all of us trained together. Why?” He decided to ask him.

"Nothing," Kageyama answered immediately, and stretched out his arms to make him understand that he wanted the ball back, but Hinata shook his head, making the other roll his eyes. “It didn’t bother me that we all trained together.”

“So?”

Kageyama watched him for a few seconds, and then rolled his eyes again for a second time.

“What you said about me belonging to Gryffindor, do you really believe it?” He asked him.

"I can’t believe you remember anything I said," Hinata expressed with a laugh, but then let out a scream at the same time that he stopped standing in his place to hide behind the tree that was there when Kageyama didn’t hesitate to run after him when he heard him, and both moved a few inches around the tree until Hinata poked his head to see that Kageyama was on the other side. “Of course. Why?”

"I never thought about it," Kageyama replied before moving towards him, but again they were once again on either side of the tree.

"And why do you think you were sorted in Gryffindor?"

“Because Sawamura-san scolds me a lot?” Hinata held an inevitable laugh, but again he stopped when Kageyama tried to reach him, until he succeeded after taking him by the back of his tunic and making him go back so that he could look at him. “Because I’m imprudent.” He added removing the quaffle of Hinata’s hands to be able to leave it under his own arm.

“But being imprudent sometimes makes you achieve good things. Doesn’t it?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, to remain more time in the quidditch field to practice? Yes, we break the rules. But that doesn’t always lead to bad consequences." Kageyama rested his back against the tree, holding the quaffle back in his hands to observe it, while Hinata chose to look at him. “It's because of them, isn’t it?” He asked, and smiled sideways when Kageyama only increased his frown. He didn’t doubt that he had acted strange since all of them had practiced together because Kindaichi had mentioned that he had chosen Slytherin for Iwaizumi and Oikawa, although throughout the training, he had also heard him commenting to Kunimi about the trainings of his house. “Now Gryffindor is your team.”

“What if I screw it up again?”

“More than you did in the first try-outs?” Hinata covered his mouth to not laugh, but anyway he ducked when Kageyama reached out to probably grab his hair, and straightened up again. “You could have been sorted in Hufflepuff, you could have been in Slytherin, and I don’t say Ravenclaw because you don’t have the brain," He bent down again to avoid Kageyama from hitting him, “But you are in Gryffindor, and now you are in the team, so don’t think about anything else, although it’s clear that you don’t.” On that occasion Hinata wasn’t quick enough to get away from what his comments were causing in Kageyama, and he complained when he hit him on the head with the quaffle. “We'll win and raise the cup so don’t get distracted!” Hinata exclaimed before removing the quaffle to run away from him.

“Give me back the quaffle, dumbass!” Kageyama didn’t doubt to go after him, starting a new round of chasing when at that moment Hinata used one of the columns to hide from him as well as move while they turned around that part of the architecture of the castle.

Hinata laughed, stretching his hands with the quaffle between them only to remove it when Kageyama was about to take it, glad to again assure him that it didn’t matter in which house those with whom he had shared a team before were, as long as he only focused on the fact that he belonged to Gryffindor, and therefore had a new team as well as new teammates who were willing to have patience while he learned how to relate to others both on and off the field. 

* * *

Yaku paced back and forth in the room without being able to stop, while his roommate watched him appear to be debating with his own self because his eyes didn’t leave the ground and he gesticulated with his hands unconsciously, until Daichi assumed that he finally arrived at an agreement with himself because suddenly he sat in front of him in his bed and watched him.

"I'm eighteen and he's sixteen," Yaku expressed, and Daichi didn’t smile only because of the seriousness in the other’s face. Neither of them needed the other to say a name to know who they were talking about. “When I graduate, he will stay here for two more years." His roommate continued to watch him, “I don’t want to do something that I can regret because two separate years is a long time.”

Yaku had finally accepted it.

He liked Lev.

"I'm screwed." He articulated loudly.

Daichi finally laughed because he didn’t doubt that at last his roommate had realized that there were reasons why he didn’t push Lev away when he approached to keep him company, but then chose to give him a quiet smile after hearing him speak. "You will never know what might happen if you don’t give him a chance," He decided to express.

“I don’t know if I'm willing to start something knowing that later it will end badly.”

Daichi sighed. The fact that Yaku accepted that he liked Lev was a big step, but a big setback was carried out thinking that he shouldn’t do anything with his feelings because their ages were different and therefore the time they left Hogwarts also, but he held a smile when he remembered the both had the chance to chat in their room because they belonged to the same house.

“Do you know what characterizes our house above everything else?” He asked.

“Bravery.”

Daichi achieved the effect he wanted after checking the stupefaction in Yaku’s face, and simply gave him a smile before leaving him alone before getting up to leave the room as he had to carry out the round of the day to check that all were in their rooms or that no lack of control was occurring in the common room, while Yaku allowed his body to lie on a bed that wasn’t his.

He couldn’t deny that from the first moment he had looked at him, Lev had caught his interest. And his desire to rest his eyes on that fifth-year boy who for some reason attracted his full attention, had only increased since he had approached him without understanding why. Although his desire to give him a punch for every word against his person that he said without malicious intent, were immense, his desire to focus on him otherwise exceeded him by a wide difference. He had accepted that he liked Lev, but having understood what his feelings were for him didn’t imply that he would follow them.

Not even something had happened with Lev, and he was already thinking about the consequences of the actions that only occurred in his head. When he cared for something or someone, he was only able to think of the possible bad outcomes, so he hadn’t let his emotions distract him after knowing that two years apart was a serious issue for him.

Courage?

Was it a courageous decision to accept to follow his feelings despite the consequences they could bring in the future? Or, wasn’t it braver to decide to go against his own emotions and beat them by just listening to his brain?

When the heart and the brain argued, which of the two represented more courage to follow?

Yaku considered his own self brave, because he believed that otherwise the Sorting Hat wouldn’t have placed him in Gryffindor, and looking at the ceiling of his room, he asked himself what he had to do in order to affirm his courage. 

* * *

 

Just as previously Akaashi had approached Kuroo after sitting at his table to keep him company, on that occasion it was Kuroo who sat in front of the Ravenclaw after taking place at the table that belonged to the bronze and blue colors. He believed that he had many problems to solve considering that not only had he practically thrown out one of his team members, that the same had hurt himself, that another of his players was reluctant to listen to him for reasons that he still didn’t know, and that although he had managed to get Kindaichi to hear him, he wasn’t sure how long that peace would last.

But he also believed there were other problems that he couldn’t solve in the Slytherin common room.

“Will you finally accept that I am the smarter of the two?” Kuroo expressed.

Akaashi, who until that moment had simply observed him while holding a cup in his hands considering that it was breakfast time, which explained why neither Ennoshita nor Kenma were with him, since the first always preferred to spend a few minutes of his routine to stretch all his muscles, and the second to sleep a few more minutes because he considered that breakfast wasn’t important; raised an eyebrow.

“If it weren’t for my vice-captain, you wouldn’t have discovered anything. Do I really have to accept something that is not?” Kuroo smirked when he heard him, since he didn’t expect the Ravenclaw to accept that he was the smarter of the two, although he also believed that he had certainly been lucky to find himself at the right time to hear his housemates speak. And certainly, if it hadn’t been for Ennoshita, they might never have known who had bewitched Kunimi. “You haven’t approached me just to try to get me to say what you want me to say, am I right?” Akaashi added.

“How do you do to read everyone?”

Kuroo wasn’t totally surprised. He knew who was in front of him.

But in any case, there were times when the Ravenclaw continued to impress him with his quick way of thinking and studying situations.

"Years of practice," Akaashi answered simply, “Being sorted in a house where most people choose to hold an internal monologue instead of paraphrasing with words has helped me. And not to mention that coordinating a team where you don’t know if someone is in a bad mood because he didn’t eat well, because he doesn’t feel like playing, because he’s tired, because he doesn’t get an exercise, or because he simply prefers to be asleep." He added, “As I said, years, and situations, of practice.”

“Say, that's why you got interested in Bokuto? Because he’s the opposite?”

Kuroo held a daring smirk on his face when Akaashi watched him through narrowed eyes for a few seconds, understanding that the one in front of him probably already knew about the sudden closeness he and the Hufflepuff captain had recently held; which didn’t surprise him completely, since he was aware that just as he had a close relationship with Ennoshita and Kenma, Kuroo and Bokuto were confidents.

"If you want to go into the subject that much, I think you've skipped a detail," Akaashi opted to say to prevent his mind from focusing on the way his lips had attached to Bokuto's, considering that what he least needed was for Kuroo to laugh at him for blushing without even being nine in the morning.

“What do you mean?” Kuroo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“When we spoke the other time, you said that you and Oikawa-san reign in Slytherin while Kiyoko-san and I in Ravenclaw.”

“And?”

“I don’t know if I completely agree with that position.”

“Why?

“Well, let's say that Sugawara-san can also be placed on the same level as you,” He replied, keeping the cup a few centimeters from his lips to blow the content inside, “And incredibly, you've forgotten about Kenma in Ravenclaw." Akaashi added before drinking his coffee to allow the caffeine to run down his throat and then wake up his body at the same time he stared at Kuroo, who observed him in the same way.

“I give you the Suga thing. I thought I didn’t have to clarify about Kenma with you.”

Akaashi rested the cup on the table while holding a short, simple as well as completely false, sideways smile.

“I approached you because I don’t want there to be confusion. I apologize on behalf of Futakuchi. I don’t want there to be tensions between our teams." Kuroo added immediately, as he had approached Akaashi to make it clear that he didn’t want any problems between their teams, since what he least needed was that there was a bad relationship with the house they would later face in the Quidditch field.

"It wasn’t your fault, and I'm not the one to apologize to." Akaashi observed him, since in the end, Kunimi was the main victim of what Futakuchi had done, because while the entire team had suffered the consequences, he had been the person to be bewitched in the middle of the game. “But I find it convenient that as a captain you approach me considering that I am also the captain of the other team involved. So as not to leave misunderstandings between us, I'll be clear," He stopped holding the cup between his hands to rest his arms on the table and interlace his own fingers to observe him. “If any of your players again try to go against any of mine, there will be problems, and the enmity you are supposed to have with Gryffindor, won’t be anything compared to the one you can win against Ravenclaw.”

"Threatening me, Akaashi?” Kuroo asked as curious as interested, leaning forward to cross his arms over the table.

“I don’t need to threaten to make clear my intentions.”

“And your intentions are to express that you will go against my house.”

“Your players.” Akaashi corrected him.

“Who are under my mandate.”

“That's why I make my intentions clear. So that if the situation happens, you can decide whether to be an obstacle to me, or to step aside.”

Both captains of their respective teams stared at each other, both knowing that the youngest was speaking seriously and realistically, because just as Akaashi had mentioned to Ennoshita and Kenma before, in case another situation occurs where one of his players was attacked in any possible way, he wouldn’t remain calm like the last time.

"I would never leave my players alone." Kuroo assured him.

Maybe he had argued with Yahaba and still had to talk with him as well as with Futakuchi, but that didn’t mean he would choose to step aside to see how another person outside Slytherin used all his possibilities under his power to lash out at them.

"Then unless you want us to fight, take care of your players, as apparently I have to do with mine as well.” Akaashi determined.

The two again stared at each other, until both of them turned their heads when they heard Ennoshita's laughter coming from the doors of the Great Hall, who seemed to be amused by gently pushing Kenma forward while keeping his hands on his shoulders, and the other making clear that without Ennoshita he wouldn’t have arrived to that part of the castle, since he continued with his eyes almost closed while he allowed a yawn to escape his lips. Akaashi looked at them smiling sideways, until he rested his eyes on Kuroo and he did the same.

"Tell me how you're doing with the exam I advised you on," The older one told him before standing up.

"You'll be the first to know my results." Akaashi assured him.

Kuroo gave him a fake smile before settling his eyes again on Kenma, who frowned as well as wrinkled his nose when Ennoshita repeatedly hit him lightly on the head to try to get him to wake up, and the Slytherin smiled sideways, without hidden intentions or adjacent motives. He just held a true smile.

"I know the two of us would protect each of our players from others," He expressed, being closely watched by Akaashi, “And while there’s nothing I can assure you of, the only thing I can tell you is that one of your players will always have the possibility of being protected by you and me." He added, looking at Kenma to then rest his eyes on the Ravenclaw in front of him.

“That's his decision, not mine.”

For the first time Kuroo didn’t contradict him, and simply watched him for a few seconds before he rest his eyes on Kenma, and finally leave Akaashi alone, who followed him with his eyes to then rest them again on his two best friends. The blue of his eyes darkened as his facial features tensed.

He hadn’t liked anything at all that someone had messed up with his team. And he felt disappointed, with nobody but himself.

He had made it clear to Kuroo that he wouldn't hesitate to protect the players of his team when in fact one had already been attacked. He allowed the others to call him captain when he wasn’t sure what to think, because although what happened with Kunimi had captured everyone's attention, doubts still continued to revolve around his head.

They had lost the first game.

They had practiced, they had trained. He had made all the players in his team show up for all the trainings so that there was no possibility of anyone being confused during the game, he had devised strategies with Ennoshita that in the end hadn’t worked, and he had thought only for another team to take the victory.

He had the luxury of speaking seriously to Kuroo, of promising to protect his team at all costs, of determining that he wasn’t happy with the way in which one of his players had been forced to play after being bewitched, but reality was that he had more frustrations than assurances, more doubts than certainties, and more questions than answers.

He knew that it would be convenient for him to think that they had only lost because Kunimi had been bewitched and therefore not able to do his corresponding defensive work as the keeper of the team, but he couldn’t. Because he knew they hadn't lost only for that.

His decisions hadn’t been enough, the passes hadn’t been long or short enough, his movements hadn’t been the adequate ones. His way of leading the team hadn’t worked.

“Hey,” He had begun to submerge so much in his thoughts, that his body was momentarily characterized by a slight tremor when suddenly Ennoshita's hand was rested on his shoulder and then he placed at his side to watch him. “I saw Kuroo talking to you. Is everything okay?” He asked him.

Akaashi realized that he had asked that question after taking advantage of the fact that, to Kenma's disgrace, he had been interrupted by Hinata, who seemed to be waking him up with his huge smile and morning words. He fixed his eyes on Ennoshita again, who continued to stare at him.

“I kissed Bokuto-san.” Akaashi expressed.

Ennoshita hadn’t asked him about the aforementioned, and from the stupefaction in his face he hadn’t expected Akaashi to utter those words, which he took in his favor since his idea had been to leave him surprised to be able to stand, while Ennoshita observed him with both eyebrows raised and eyes wide open, any trace of sleep gone from his expression. He had said those words because he had wanted to tell him, and because he took that moment of surprise from Ennoshita to leave the Great Hall.

He had many questions whose answers he could only find in one place, but before he could go there, suddenly two hands rested on his hips to keep him from moving away from the Great Hall.

"Wow, hello there," Bokuto greeted him with a warm smile.

Akaashi rested the palms of his hands on his chest when he realized that he had been the person to stop him instead of someone else, and allowed the darkness of his gaze to intersect with the brightness of his for a few seconds before deciding to speak.

"Hi,"

Bokuto increased the size of his smile when he heard him, but he stared at him, not needing Akaashi to add another word or change a feature of his expression to know that something was happening to him.

“What's going on?” He asked him.

Akaashi opened his mouth to answer, thinking he wanted to talk to him as well as stay with him while Bokuto continued with his hands on his hips, but previously he had made the mistake of allowing his thoughts and feelings for him to take away the victory from his hands, so he only raised his hands to make a light caress on the cheeks of the one who smiled happily at the touch.

“Can we talk later?”

Bokuto continued looking at him, and although his smile didn’t vanish from his face, it didn’t seem to match his words. “Is everything okay between us?”

Akaashi formed a soft line with his lips, realizing that his rush to resolve other issues, was only managing to add another problem to his list, one where Bokuto thought that he believed that the kiss between the two had been a mistake and that's why he wanted to leave quickly at the moment. But he simply nodded, and Bokuto chose to let him go after he stopped resting his hands on his waist.

He wanted to stay with him, but decided to turn around to mark the path he had previously made to go to the Great Hall, the same one he did every morning, and once he finally climbed the spiral staircase that indicated the way to the Ravenclaw’s common room, he remained standing at the door of it. He raised his head, and watched the bronze eagle that without fail, every day made him some riddle to solve, which at that moment moved its head to observe him.

“Would you lend me some of your time?” Akaashi asked.

“A student with a question?” The eagle inquired.

“A riddle.”

The eagle's head made a small downward movement and then upward after having seemed to scan he with its gaze, while Akaashi remained with his hands clasped behind his lower back. “The roles are reversed when a student appears before me with a riddle that instead of formulating, I have to answer. A Ravenclaw is characterized by accepting new challenges, and by its curiosity. Therefore, my attention is yours.”

Akaashi felt calmer when he heard it, since he had thought that the eagle was the only one capable of perhaps giving meaning to all his questions.

“I'm the lead of the Ravenclaw quidditch team. My players handed me their confidence, but I don’t find the fundaments to trust myself. What do I need to do, in order to prevail and not fail?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know if the eagle can speak beyond the riddles, but let's pretend it can.
> 
> Next chapter: A micropuff can be a peace offering.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe (actually I can) that I spoiled myself bnha without even having started reading it why am I like thisss
> 
>  
> 
> Previously, Iwaizumi kissed Oikawa to shut him up because he told him that a kiss meant nothing.

“Many are the doubts, and many are the answers. Many are the possibilities, and many are the uncertainties.”

Many were the doubts.

Which team was the best, and which one the worst? What strategies were useful, and what were better to ignore? What was needed to win the tournament, and what were the characteristics that were left apart?

Many were the answers.

Each player was a world full of mistakes and successes, each team had its own dynamics as well as its own way of presenting itself to the rest of the teams in the quidditch field, and each tournament was different from the previous year.

Many were the possibilities.

A winning team at the beginning of the tournament could turn out to be the loser at the end, just as a team without a base could be placed on the highest podium at the close of the tournament. Some would be those in raising the cup, while others would settle for just seeing it.

Many were the uncertainties.

A bludger that marked its own path without the help of a bat, a player who was hurt by a coalition or by an unexpected play, a change in the rhythm of the game that had been produced by pressures, thoughts, or feelings.

“Successes of the past can be transformed into errors of the present, and these in turn can be changes in the future. Evolution is inevitable, for better or for worse, everything and everyone is in constant movement. Feelings, thoughts, emotions. To prevail and not fail, there is not a single answer of what you should expect. You must fail to listen, listen to learn, learn to improve, and improve to prevail.”

“For I have already failed,” Akaashi expressed, “How should I learn if I don’t find any escape?”

“What is it that allows a Ravenclaw to be curious, to want to learn and be informed, and seek to improve as a person as well as expand their knowledge?”

“Be open-minded.”

“And what do you need to do in order to have an open mind?”

“Learn.”

“You learn because your horizons are unlimited, and you are open-minded because you learn. The reciprocity between the expansion of your knowledge and your reasons not to remain with a single perspective, is what allows you to improve your abilities.”

“But I've already had an open mind about the possibilities of why I failed. I have extended my limits, asking myself what I have done wrong.”

“An individual perspective is not enough. A tournament is not composed of a single team in the same way that a team is not composed of a single player, and a player is not formed by a single thought, nor by a single emotion.”

Suddenly Akaashi stopped playing with his fingers at the same time he remained completely motionless, with his impressive eyes set on those made of bronze. All that time he had wondered what he had done wrong, what he had failed to do, and where he should look for the error. He had focused on just wondering what it was that hadn’t been enough in training, in the way they thought and developed in the field. He had only chosen to blame himself, and he understood why he had felt he had no escape when he heard the words of the eagle.

Four were the teams that made up the tournament.

Hufflepuff had shown them that regardless of whether Kunimi had been spellbound or not, many were the opportunities for them to approach the hoops, because they had the experience and knew how to manage, because on their shoulders remained the confidence of last year after winning the cup, and because the motivation to win another year in a row allowed them to continue looking for the advantage. They were a team composed of people who were dedicated to improve to obtain better results, who knew how to use force in their favor, and who only planned to keep improving, becoming a more vigorous challenge.

Slytherin was dangerously dynamic and strikingly frightening, and in case all the players who composed the team decided to be in the same line, they would become a group composed of skilled people who knew each other, who knew how to communicate with words and through gestures, and that together would seek to win in their own way. They wouldn’t hesitate to seize the cunning that characterized them to get the first place, and they would determine to find the power they needed to hold the cup.

Gryffindor had solid foundations as well as a new beginning. It represented the mixture of players who rested their confidence in the new additions but without neglecting the old base. It was the union of motivation, the quest to win, and new paths to travel without fearing what kind of obstacles could be encountered. They would be passionate when playing, and would trust the moral values that united them to live each game in a special way.

Ravenclaw was curiosity, they were potential. They were different because horizontality characterized them, and because in the eyes of others, they were seen as the unknown. They were a passive threat that was guided by thoughts, strategies, and reasons to seek to conquer the field through new ways. They were the conjunction of personalities as different as equal, and they were able to take the mistakes to allow them to be transformed into lessons later. They were a team that allowed themselves to reflect on what happened to be able to intuit the future, who wanted to use creativity to stand out as unique, as well as demonstrate that they represented an innovation.

They were new opportunities of learning.

“Thank you.” Akaashi expressed before making a slight bow with his head, showing that the words he had heard finally allowed him to find a way out of all his problems.

"Thank you." The eagle said.

“Why?”

“For looking to learn.”

Akaashi held a small sideways smile, and turned around to then inhale deeply and release the air, as if through that gesture he was allowing all his previous questionings to leave both his body and his head so that they would be replaced with more defined words and a clearer meaning.

He had found the answer he had wanted, and now he only had to put the newly learned theory to the test. 

* * *

 

Yahaba glanced at the glass table that had replaced the previous one that was in front of him, after him being cross-legged sitting in one of the sofas in the common room with an open book in his lap, since even if he preferred to study or read in his room, or the library, in the first place he didn’t want to be with Futakuchi because the same had told him that he needed sometime alone, and in the second he didn’t doubt he would find a Ravenclaw with whom he would end up talking instead on doing his homework, so he had opted to advance the reading in the common room of his house although it wasn’t the best place to do it due to the lack of silence.

It didn’t bother him to feel that several of his housemates were watching him not only because of the injuries in his arms, because even if one had the largest and was still under a gauze, in the end more crystals had cut his skin although with less seriousness, so small lines were still in his two arms, capturing the attention of others as well as making them wonder why he possessed them. It annoyed him they didn’t keep quiet so he could read, although his own concentration was failing because even though he had managed to advance half of the pages, he continued to cast sporadic glances at the new table in front of him that turned out to be identical to that on which he had fallen and produced marks on his skin.

He let out a sigh and realized how pathetic he was if the person he had most exchanged words with over the past few days turned out to be Ennoshita, not only because he didn't want to accept that spending his time with the Ravenclaw had stopped being a waste of time, but also because if Ennoshita was the one he talked to the most, was because he wasn’t chatting with his housemates.

He exchanged a few words with Futakuchi but that didn’t mean his best friend had captured him in his lies and allowed him to be guided by them to make him look like a fool, and although Matsukawa, Hanamaki and Suga didn’t hesitate to approach him every time they saw him to ask him how he was doing, Yahaba thanking the three of them for thinking that in some way he was their son instead of just a younger student, although he would never say it out loud; He still didn’t talk to Oikawa or Kuroo. He hadn’t talked to either of them since he had discussed with each one, and he didn’t know what to do, what to think or what to say, because although it was a reality that he wanted to return to the team, that implied that he had to talk to the leaders, and he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to. But he realized that apparently he hadn’t been the only one to be thinking what words to say or how to proceed.

Suddenly a fluffy pink ball rested in the center of his book watching him, and he let out a sigh at the same time he felt that his sides on the sofa sank because the micropuff that had appeared in front of him could only belong to one person. He tensed immediately when he found himself in between two people who still gave him his space anyway, and he didn’t take his eyes off his book, the micropuff continuing to be his main sight.

"Hello," Said the one sitting on his right in a voice he had never heard from him.

A tone of voice of regret.

“Seriously? 'Hello', Oikawa?”

He recognized that Kuroo was the one sitting on his left.

“Tetsu-chan, don’t criticize my word!”

The trace of regret was quickly replaced by that tone of voice that was usually followed by a sigh that the one sitting on his left Yahaba heard released, allowing him to confirm that those who had imprisoned him in between were the vice-captain and the captain of the team of Slytherin quidditch. Oikawa and Kuroo stopped looking at each other with narrowed eyes above the sixth-year's head to refocus their attention on the one who approached his index finger to the micropuff, that touched the same with the tip of its tongue, an action being a bit strange but not entirely repulsive.

"We wanted to talk to you," Oikawa said.

"Yes, both of us," Kuroo added.

Kuroo continued to stare at Yahaba while the other interspersed his gaze between his micropuff and the boy who proved he didn’t care that his pet touched the tip of his finger with its tongue, but then the two seventh-years looked at each other when the boy between them continued in silence, until Kuroo gave him a small smile assuring him that he was the first to speak, so he let out a sigh and again rested his eyes on Yahaba.

“It wasn’t my intention for us to discuss or that you end up hurting yourself just because both of us took advantage of the moment to release our frustrations against each other,” He began to say looking at the injuries in Yahaba’s arms, as he continued to be distressed by the fact that he had hurt himself after they had fought, “I said many things that I regret and many things that I don’t, and I need you to know that inviting you to leave the team is one of the things I do regret having said," He continued with his gaze resting on Yahaba although he felt the surprised look Oikawa threw at him, “You have to understand me. I want Slytherin to win, I want the team to be a team that everyone is envious of because of how good we are, the good atmosphere in the trainings as well as when we play no matter how the match ends. I don’t want to be the captain of a team that is incomplete, since there are players that I know are as determined to win as me," He expressed, referring to the one who continued with his eyes fixed on the micropuff even if he was listening intently, “I apologize for offending you, for screaming at you and for causing our lack of control to be evident in your arms. I'll understand if you don’t want to, but I want you to come back to the team because I know you're sorry that you agreed to quit as well as I did to insinuate you do it.”

Kuroo felt better about himself after letting him know that it had been their fault that they had retaliated against each other when it had been clear that they both carried frustrations that weren’t due to their respective presences. Both had lost control because they had finally had the opportunity to express themselves, and therefore said as many true words as formulated prayers they regretted. He believed that for the way Yahaba had seen Futakuchi when he had said that the tournament didn’t matter to him, he did care that Slytherin did well as well as the rest of the team, so he wanted him to agree to return because although his past dictated a thing and they also had a lost game to prove it, he didn’t believe that Yahaba would behave that way again.

But he also didn’t expect that the relationship between the two was accompanied by flowers of all colors as well as groups of rainbows only because he had apologized to him, so he raised his eyes to tell Oikawa that if he wanted to talk, that was the moment considering that Yahaba was still silent; and unlike him, his right hand on the team held a sideways smile when he began to speak.

“We care about you, and we know that the way we expressed ourselves with you wasn’t right because we both managed to finally get you angry and end up hurting you because Tetsu-chan pressured you and I only annoyed you,” Oikawa expressed, “I also want you to come back to the team but only if you're willing to change your attitude." He raised his palm to stop Kuroo from saying something when he saw that he stared at him because he didn’t believe his words were the correct ones, while his gaze remained on Yahaba, “I don’t know why you and Tetsu-chan fought and I don’t want to know either because it’s not something that concerns me and should be between the two of you, and although I know that my way of approaching you wasn’t good either, you must understand both of us. We want you to be part of the team as long as you show that you really want to, because as I said, we care about you, but we can’t allow you to do whatever you want again in a game making victory difficult for us to reach, not because we only want to win, but also because we really want to be a team, and if you aren’t willing to help us as we are willing to help you, both within the field of quidditch as your captain and vice-captain, as well as also outside the field being your friends and housemates, then it’s not worthwhile to come back if all you are looking for and achieve is making us worry about you to the point of screaming at you and even making you hurt. Nobody comes out winning in such a situation.” Oikawa said, and the three fell into silence as soon as he stopped talking.

Yahaba had listened attentively to both of them and the fact that the micropuff had chosen to make its fluffy fur what was rubbing with his finger instead of its tongue was proof of the same, since it sought to comfort the wave of feelings that had appeared in his body after hearing the way in which the two at his sides felt and thought about him. He had also done and said things and words that he regretted, being probably the most regretful of the three because the two seventh-years at his sides only regretted the words they had spoken, while he also wanted to erase the actions that he had done since the beginning of the academic year. And after the lies he had heard and under which he had allowed himself to be guided, he knew that if there was one thing that was true at the time, was the fact that the three of them were looking for the best for the Slytherin team, a team that he had been invited to join again.

They had given him a new opportunity, one he couldn’t afford to miss.

"I'll come back to the team," He accepted, those being the first words he had released since the seventh-year duo had placed themselves beside him, who at that moment exchanged glances with each other as well as small smiles after listening to him. “And I promise that I won’t behave the way I have. I will compensate for my mistakes when we face Ravenclaw and won’t miss any training," He decided, knowing that he should work hard for the team to trust him again and be chosen again as one of the official beaters, since he also wished the new opportunity to be able to make a reality the confrontation he had promised to perform with Ennoshita. “But I can’t answer the questions I know you have for me," He added without thinking, making the seventh-year duo watch him closely, "I can’t explain why I acted the way I did as well as why Futakuchi did the same. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you to trust me, and for the moment, don’t talk to him because you will only bother him.”

Not only Yahaba, but also Kuroo was relieved when he finished speaking, because if he had mentioned that the reason why the discussion between them had started or the reason why Futakuchi was in a bad mood, was because he had bewitched Kunimi, then the two would have had to answer many questions from Oikawa because he still had no idea about what had happened, so he felt lucky when Yahaba finished speaking without mentioning what happened with the Ravenclaw team, without knowing if he had chosen not to mention that detail on purpose or not. But anyway he smiled sideways, and although he was afraid at first because he continued to feel guilty every time he saw Yahaba's arms, he finally rested a hand on his shoulder and his smile widened when the younger turned his head towards him instead of reacting violently as previously had happened.

"We'll trust you as long as you trust us." He said.

A second chance had appeared not only for Yahaba to show that he was sorry and that he was committed to the team from that moment on, but so that Kuroo and Oikawa could show him that they would try to guide him both within the quidditch field and outside of it, being his leaders but also his housemates. A second opportunity for them to prove that the three of them wanted the same thing and that they would make an effort to maintain good communication between them, and that they wouldn’t allow the anger to be what spoke for them.

Yahaba was pulled away from Kuroo when Oikawa crossed his arms over his chest to approximate him and basically smother him in a hug at the same time the micropuff finally stopped being on the sixth-year's book to float around them seeming to be happy.

“Shigeru-chan I'm sorry for making you angry and of course I trust you!” Oikawa exclaimed, rather shouted, getting Kuroo to hit himself in the forehead and Yahaba to give him a pat on his hand that also indicated that he should release him in case he didn’t want to suffocate him, so he again was in the middle of the two who watched him smiling.

"Stop looking at me like that, I feel you’ll do something bad to me," Yahaba expressed.

“What a bad-mannered brat!” Oikawa stated crossing his arms and pretending to be offended, when seconds before he had almost taken the air by hugging him, but the only thing he managed to happen was the indignation glance the other two crossed with each other before resting their eyes on him, since with his micropuff who had settled on his shoulder, he looked like anything but an angry person.

"Well," Kuroo clasped his hands together, “You want to practice? Do you want us to have a beater training?” He asked along with a totally mischievous, but also honest smile.

"I was reading," Yahaba replied, pointing to the book that had fallen to the floor after Oikawa had drawn him to him, “I’m hurt,” He rested his gaze in his own arms, “And there's a horrible weather, too." He glanced momentarily at one of the windows to see that a strong wind was shaking the tops of the trees just as the sun had been replaced by a totally gray sky, indicating that it would start raining at any moment, and again his eyes rested on the one who, although understood, lowered his eyes anyway, “But sure, why not," He agreed, and Kuroo looked like a cat whose ears went up after hearing that his owner came to his house, since he straightened and the emotion was evident in his face before getting up.

“I'll go find Matsukawa and Hanamaki and I’ll force Osamu to come!” It was all he exclaimed before running to the stairs.

Yahaba smiled after seeing him so excited just to be able to practice with him, and he wondered if it had been that way from the beginning in case he hadn’t acted under the influence exerted by the lies of his best friend. He closed his book, and before he could think of going to his room to leave it, he was taken by the shoulders to be dragged out of the common room with Hanamaki and Matsukawa smiling at him in a non-innocent way, with Kuroo leading the group as he moved his arms in the air expressing how excited he was, and with Osamu by his side watching him as if it was his fault that he had suddenly stopped being comfortable in his bed.

“Sure! May the great Oikawa-san remain alone for being a chaser! That's discrimination!”

The brunet seemed to be angry with the air itself, since those around him had left the common room regardless of leaving him alone or allowing him to look like a madman after talking alone because his only company remained the micropuff that had separated from him after he heard him scream but soon came back to approach him to brush its cheek with its fur.

“There are candies in the room,” Oikawa indicated as if he was talking to a child instead of a micropuff that alone couldn’t find a bag of candy, since he didn’t feel like moving after being abandoned by several of his teammates, until he remembered that he had seen Iwaizumi in the room before he approached with Kuroo to talk to Yahaba, who had happened to take Matsukawa and Hanamaki with them, so he smiled at his micropuff. “Let's go.”

There was something he had to do and his pet had given him the perfect excuse.

He had just been abandoned by several of his friends in the middle of the common room, but that didn’t change the fact that there was no person at Hogwarts who didn’t know who Oikawa Tooru was, and he believed that this was due to his excellent ability to be extremely ingenious. He was the kind of person who got everything he wanted by just smiling honestly or feigning his best smirk, who managed to captivate everyone around him without striving to achieve it, and the kind of person that could attract anyone he wanted. Oikawa knew how to cope with any situation and how to use his own personality in his favor. He had his own charm, and no one could deny that it was no surprise that many in the castle considered themselves his true fans. He developed gracefully, he managed to win people's trust, and he knew that he was capable of being a very influential person in the opinion of others. He was aware that he could seduce whoever he wanted by just smiling, and he believed that his ingenuity in using that quality was his best ability. He was ingenious when it came to managing. People adored him, and only he himself could claim the merit of that. He belonged to the house of Slytherin because his wit was his best weapon, and because his personality was the right one to have been sorted in that house.

Severe days ago that Oikawa had been silent, holding the kind of attitude that only flourished in him when he remained focused and completely immersed in his thoughts, without allowing anyone to approach him to try to guess what was going through his mind. His characteristic charm disappeared when his smile was supplanted by a pact of silence, and he decided to communicate with himself through thoughts that only he could understand. That facet of him used to appear when he was in the midst of a stressful quidditch match, so finding himself in that state when the next game was far from the date, meant that something else besides sport was the owner of all his reasoning. He kept smiling when someone greeted him in the hallway or when a teacher congratulated him on his good grades in class, but he stopped pretending when he was alone. He had talked to Yahaba and Kuroo, but his attitude hadn’t changed.

Because for the first time in his life, his wit had been blocked.

He was neither angry nor saddened. Simply, blank.

It wasn’t normal for his abilities to be charming to be removed from its place, nor his capacity to attract people to be avoided. He wasn’t used to being rejected or accepting that he had been denied. To be a person who always got what he wanted without the help of external factors, his whole interior was crumbling at the thought of not being able to get what he wanted. Or rather, who.

"Stay here." He told his micropuff, who left its place on his shoulder as soon as he heard him, to stay floating in the air as Oikawa entered his room and finally found himself with the one who seemed to be immune to his charms.

Oikawa approached him without saying a word although his presence was clear, and he stood before him, staring at him silently. It had been possible that someone didn’t fall before his pleasant smile or his unworried attitude or his adorable personality. There was someone who wasn’t fooled by Oikawa's ingenuity, and that person turned out to be nobody else but Iwaizumi Hajime.

“And why are you so serious now?” Iwaizumi asked when he saw him, being sitted on the edge of his bed.

"I have something to give you back." Oikawa replied.

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at the sound of it. “What?”

Instead of answering, Oikawa chose to rest his hands on Iwaizumi's cheeks as well as his lips on his after bending to join their mouths for just a second. And the one with black hair remained stupefied while Oikawa got up again to watch him seriously after establishing that fleeting closeness.

“I return your 'it doesn’t mean anything'.”

Iwaizumi watched him completely astonished while Oikawa turned around to leave the room, but not before removing a bag of candy from his bedside table, because although there were many things the brunet hated, if there was something he really despised, was to be told that he wasn’t important, and much more when it came from the person he considered the most important one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ravenclaws don't like rainy nights.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started bnha and all I'm gonna say is 1. I stan Yuga Aoyama (HE'S SO EXTRA and has sparkles around him pfft), and 2. I live for Aizawa and Present Mic's friendship.

Yahaba knew the answer to his question before he said it out loud.

“You won’t come with me this year, will you?” He asked anyway.

He was against the door frame of the room they shared because during the last few nights he had always seen him go and at that moment he didn’t want to be left alone, not because he didn’t want to stop being his best friend nor talk to him, but because Futakuchi first had to hold a conversation with himself as well as stop being annoyed with his own attitudes so that the friendship between them would return as always, so Yahaba wasn’t surprised when he heard the answer to his question.

"We both know that we will only talk once I can do it honestly," Futakuchi replied as he lay on his bed after realizing that he couldn’t escape from his own room, “No lies in between, and I'm still afraid to be honest with myself, so if I go with you like every year, I'm not sure how much I'll manage to behave.”

Although Yahaba had supposed that answer, in any case he formed a barely visible pout with his lips, since it would be the first time he would spend the festivities without his best friend by his side, who always spent those parties in his house so that he wouldn’t feel lonely. But no matter how much he wanted Futakuchi to accompany him like all the previous years, Yahaba understood that his best friend needed time alone to be able to think and concentrate on himself, so he didn’t stay upset with him.

"I hope a break does you good," He expressed. Futakuchi simply let out a snort while Yahaba giggled at the sight of his reaction, though he was serious again before continuing to speak, “I went back to the team." He said without giving any further explanations, “And I got you time so that nobody bothers you while you induce yourself in the search for your own self," He laughed when his best friend observed him wondering how it was that they could be considered as such.

"Thank you." Futakuchi said anyway, being honest, because if he wasn’t ready to chat with his best friend, much less was to have conversations with the other people on the team that he didn’t doubt were more than eager to recharge him with questions whose answers he would never be sure he wanted to answer with the truth.

Yahaba gave him a smile before leaving him alone after deciding to be the one who escaped at that moment, and again he held a serious expression on his face as he descended the stairs and observed through the window the way the rain increased the size of the lake, before leaving the common room of his house.

Reality was that he had always invited his best friend to spend the holidays with him because his family was still at the top of work after his parents hold important positions in a company linked to magic and security. And he had no siblings, so Futakuchi's presence had always prevented him from being alone during the festivities. He only remembered having shared the time of the holidays with his best friend, so he wondered what he would do now that he had mentioned that he would spend that period on his part. He only had the weekend to decide what to do because on Monday he would be at the express returning to his home with the others, and he remained quiet for a few seconds when a possible solution appeared before his eyes. The idea didn’t displease him completely and he thought it would be an interesting and even entertaining time, so before thinking twice, he approached the one he sighted and gave him a gentle kick in the leg to make him realized that he was no longer alone. 

* * *

Something that united the three sixth-year roommates who belonged to Ravenclaw besides good grades and their obsession with thinking, was the disgust they felt by the nights when the rain didn’t stop falling and the thunder interrupted their long-awaited silence, as well as the lightning flashes the calm provided by the darkness. None liked the idea of not being able to sleep because the storm interrupted their hours of rest, and the three knew that they wouldn’t sleep as soon as they finished dinner and they saw that it was still raining, or that at least that they wouldn’t rest their heads on their pillows and closed their eyes if they were in the bedroom they shared in the Tower of Ravenclaw, where the thunder was louder, the drops of rain rattled against the window with greater intensity, and the lightning flashed with more energy.

Which explained why their room was completely empty.

Bokuto had held a huge smile when he had sighted that the one who was with him at that moment, had remembered the words he had mentioned the first night they had slept together. The Hufflepuff's common room and dormitories were in the basement and therefore underground, so unlike the Ravenclaw Tower, there it didn’t matter if it was raining or the sunniest day was brithing up everyone's mood, because there was no way to tell or check, so he would always be received when he didn’t want to stay in his own room because of the weather.

But the smile to understand that Akaashi had wanted to be with him after dinner, had disappeared after he gave him a sideway glance. He knew Akaashi wasn’t a fan of rain and that he probably was with him for that reason, but he also knew that there was something else that was making Akaashi remain more quiet and serious than usual, and although he might have left it pass another time so as not to ruin the fact that the Ravenclaw had decided to cheer him up with his presence, there were other feelings involved, stronger and more important, those he felt for Akaashi, who at that moment ended up putting on a gray hoodie he had borrowed from him while he continued being seated on the edge of his bed.

He knew that Asahi would spend the night in Gryffindor, and that Konoha and Komi were still with Yaku, so he took advantage of the space that his roommates had given him to be able to sit next to Akaashi, although the other way around as he remained with his knees attached to his chest as well as surrounding them with one of his arms. He knew that the Ravenclaw kept his back to the window so he wouldn't even have the possibility of visualizing the storm in that way, while it was the same for him to find himself towards it.

“Hey,” Akaashi watched him as soon as he heard his warm tone of voice, “What's going on?” He asked him.

“What are you talking about?”

Bokuto sighted the way Akaashi started playing with the hoodie's sleeves, and the gesture was enough to assure him that something was wrong.

He was still wondering why the Ravenclaw seemed to have been in a hurry when they had crossed over at breakfast time and not even nine o'clock in the morning, knowing that therefore it wasn’t about wanting to get to the library. The younger had been somewhat distant, and although he didn’t want to be anguished with what were just his thoughts, he couldn’t help but wonder if Akaashi was actually avoiding him for something specific, but he didn’t want to continue with the doubt either.

“Akaashi, do you regret that we kissed?”

He hadn’t wanted to ask the question because he didn’t want to hear the answer in case it was an affirmation, but neither did he want to feel that Akaashi was distancing himself or forced to be with him so as not to have to tell him the truth, or what he truly felt. However, he found himself calmer as soon as he saw that Akaashi frowned when he heard his question, and continued to feel calmer when he accompanied his expression with words.

“No, of course not. No.” Although he remained surprised with his question, Akaashi couldn’t blame him for continuing to think of that moment, since he was used to showing what he felt and what he thought through gestures and actions instead of words, and he had acted in a certain distant way when in fact he would have wanted to stay with Bokuto instead of talking to the eagle, although in the end it had helped him to do so and therefore he wasn’t completely sorry for having wasted the opportunity to have breakfast with the Hufflepuff. “I’m sorry for the other day, I just needed to solve something," He added, to assure him that he had left quickly for other reasons, and not because he wanted to avoid him.

“Then what’s going on?” Bokuto asked, because although he had silenced his fears, he still behaved in an unusual way. “You're being weird.”

“I'm always weird.”

“But like, weirdly weird.”

“That makes no sense.”

As soon as he finished saying those words, Akaashi turned his head towards the single rectangular window of the room when a lightning illuminated the same through it. He was aware that he was in Hufflepuff, and that for the same reason he couldn't hear the sound of the rain as well as the sound of thunders, but that didn't prevent the storm to remind him that it still existed. Only the light from the bedside table next to Bokuto's bed accompained them, which made the shining effect of the lightning even more noticeable.

He had never liked the rain. It made him feel nervous even though he knew that it was only a climatic phenomenon, but his body tensed anyway and his eyes remained stuck in the window, until he felt something soft on his chin, and his look as serious as attentive, crossed with a golden one.

"Please," Bokuto asked at the same time that he hugged his own knees with his other arm, after having touched Akaashi's chin to get him to stop focusing on the climate that surrounded them, and therefore made his attention to be only on him.

Akaashi intercalated his gaze between him and his hands on his lap, his mind momentarily forgetting the storm because his thoughts had stopped focusing on it. He didn't know if he wanted to talk, but just as Bokuto was weak for him, he couldn't resist the supplicating manner in which those golden eyes watched him, only asking him to be sincere because with him he could be completely honest as well as talk about what it was that was making him behave differently. He had learned that just as he was the only one who could get Bokuto to stop being in a bad mood or down when something he didn't like happened, Bokuto was the only person who got him to talk when he didn't feel like it.

"It's just... I've been thinking a lot recently," He decided to say before releasing a short breath and resting his eyes on his hands, which remained on his lap and partially hidden since he was wearing a hoodie that wasn’t his.

“You are always thinking.”

“I know, but now, it's just... a lot.”

“And why do you think a lot?” Bokuto asked, because although he was aware of everything Akaashi studied, he didn’t think classes were the matter.

“Because...” Akaashi wanted to continue the sentence, but simply didn’t find the sense in doing it. “It doesn’t matter, you wouldn’t understand," He added, frustrated, and only took his eyes from his hands when he momentarily rested them on Bokuto when the same gave him a slight push with his shoulder.

“Try me.”

Talking to the eagle had solved many of his doubts, but the same had made that those were replaced with others, and no easier to answer. He wanted to be honest with Bokuto but to be so he had to organize his own thoughts first, and he was aware that he would probably never achieve it, so he only managed to frustrate himself, because although he had already solved several problems, others had appeared in his head after having spoken with the representative animal of his house.

“No, you wouldn’t understand because... ugh!” He leaned back to allow his back to remain on the mattress, and let out a sigh before straightening up again to look at Bokuto, who hadn’t taken his eyes off him in all that time. “You are a great captain, okay?”

“What?”

“Your team won and you are amazing.”

“Well, thanks for the compliment, but what does that have to do with it?” Bokuto asked, confusion evident on his face.

Akaashi knew that there were many things that he couldn’t explain, while there were others that he didn’t even have to express because they were obvious.

“It was a lost battle. Nobody thought we could win, okay?” He began to say, his seriousness finally being set aside because the frustration was evident in his tone of voice. “No one took us seriously, and that's why nobody asked questions about Kunimi. In case it had been Watari, everyone would have been confused.”

Bokuto simply let out a sigh as soon as he heard him. “You're still thinking about the game.”

“Of course. You don’t because you won, celebrated, and whatever. But not me. Not us. And I can’t stop thinking about that.”

Maybe he seemed repetitive, and keep thinking about something he couldn’t change didn’t make sense, but he just couldn’t stop repeating the game in his mind.

“I spoke seriously when I said that I think you are the best captain.”

"I know, and I appreciate it, but... I can’t find the reasons to think that," Akaashi lowered his gaze. He couldn’t change his whole way of thinking, because as he had had a talk that had opened other doors, others hadn’t still closed. “Answer me this," He added, raising his eyes again, “Were you nervous when you found out we would be your first opponent?”

“Of course!” Bokuto exclaimed along with a big smile.

He remembered the way a great emotion had flowed through his body when he had understood that year he would start the tournament against Akaashi.

"Not because of me," The Ravenclaw said when he saw him. “Because of my team.”

Suddenly Bokuto's smile faced away with the same quickness it had appeared. "Then...no," He changed his answer, wanting to be honest, since he had been so focused on the fact that he would face Akaashi, that he would have given no idea what team or house it was. “But not because I don’t take your team seriously. I'm not even nervous about facing Gryffindor, nor Slytherin in the future. I'm just excited," He added so that Akaashi wouldn’t misunderstand his words.

"That's why I said you would never understand me," Akaashi murmured, lowering his eyes again.

He didn’t doubt that Bokuto's intentions were good, but even talking to Kuroo sounded better at that time, since despite all the drama involved between their two houses, the two continued to be the captains of the two teams that had lost the first round of matches of the tournament.

“I don’t want you to think bad of yourself,” Bokuto expressed resting a hand on his shoulder, which was observed by Akaashi.

“It's like asking you not to smile.”

“If I don’t smile, will you stop thinking?”

Akaashi watched him as soon as he heard him. “Don’t stop smiling. That's what I least need.” He said, and Bokuto listened to him after holding a calm smile, “It's just that, I'm the only sixth-year captain and I think it's being more pressure than I thought.”

The Hufflepuff chose to stop keeping his knees glued to his chest to cross his legs.

"That's because you're only thinking about winning."

“Don’t you want to win?”

"Of course I do, but I also want to have fun," Bokuto replied, “Are you having fun?”

Akaashi took a few seconds to answer. “No.”

"Because your head is playing against you," He expressed, and momentarily Akaashi closed his eyes when Bokuto gently tapped his fingers against his forehead. “Have you ever thought about something else besides the outcome of the game? Like for example, you played with Kenma and Ennoshita. They are your two best friends," He said, being listened attentively by Akaashi, “Hufflepuff won last year, and although I would like to show off, I and the rest of my house know that it was possible partly because Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin were mostly made up of people who fortunately have already graduated, but unfortunately made last year’s tournament something not pleasant as always. You have the opportunity to change that in your team house, to play with your closest friends, with your housemates. That's what the tournament is about, having fun with them, and with others from other houses as well. Of course we all want to hold the cup, and my wish is to give Hufflepuff a double championship, but if I just think about winning, it will turn ugly.”

Akaashi formed a line with his lips, realizing that Bokuto was right.

Together with Ennoshita they had created a team in which not only Kenma, but all the rest and even themselves, could feel comfortable. A team where nobody mattered more than anyone, and where the horizontality between them was fundamental as well as listening and knowing how to communicate. They had made any base from the previous year disappear because for them, it was preferable not to have experience instead of the team being composed of people who preferred to take the reins of the team without caring for the ones that composed it. And they had played their first match, side by side. But instead of having fun, and enjoying the fact that they formed and represented a new Ravenclaw, they had only focused on the goal they hadn’t achieved, since they had retreated from the field with the defeat.

“Akaashi, it's easier than you think,” The mentioned one again observed Bokuto when he continued talking, “Would you let Quidditch come between us?”

"No, never." Akaashi responded immediately.

It was true that so far the tournament had brought him more problems than joys, but he would never allow himself to feel some kind of grudge or hatred towards Bokuto just because he was the captain of the team against which they had lost the game.

“Then don’t let it stand in front of you. You prioritize yourself first.”

Akaashi chose to copy his position to cross his legs, and both end up sitting facing each other. Between the words he had heard of the eagle, and those that Bokuto had just mentioned to him, he must be able to prevail. Maybe he wouldn’t avoid failing, and after all, just as Kuroo had mentioned, he could learn from mistakes too.

He didn’t want to take the tournament as a simple pastime but he didn’t want to turn it into the worst seriousness either, since he wanted to be able to have fun with his housemates, as well as represent a pride for Ravenclaw along with those at his side. He just had to learn to balance his competitive side and his funny side, and he couldn’t help but giggle when the image of Ennoshita appeared in his head, as he knew his best friend too much to know that he could make the competition an entertaining thing, and then held a smile when he realized that for that reason the same was his vice captain.

“That’s a smile I like to see.”

Akaashi again focused on Bokuto when he heard him speak, and after a few seconds, he stretched his hands between them, which the Hufflepuff didn’t doubt to unite with his own.

“How did you know what to tell me?”

“Well, I'm a captain too, ain’t I?”

Akaashi rolled his eyes but smiled when Bokuto held a proud smile on his face, and then both lowered their eyes to their hands.

The Hufflepuff was happy that his words seemed to have achieved some kind of effect on him, since he hadn’t liked to see him seriously, nor did he know why he had certainly been distant, since doubts had also begun to appear in his head, as if Akaashi was sorry that he had kissed him, if he didn’t want to establish that kind of contact again, and if from then on he would only start to flee from him. But the Ravenclaw had made it clear to him that what he least wanted was to get away from him, since they also were together at that moment.

“Are you better now?” Bokuto asked him.

"I think so," Akaashi replied before releasing a short sigh, “I was just tense.”

“You have to let loose a little bit.”

“I don’t know how to do that.”

“Well, how lucky you are for knowing me!” Bokuto exclaimed in total excitement, and moved until his knees brushed Akaashi’s. “You have to relax. Come on, breathe with me,” He said, beginning to breathe slowly.

"Bokuto-san, I won’t do breathing exercises." Akaashi's words interrupted his plan.

“But Akaashi!” Bokuto's shoulders seemed to decay after hearing his denial, “This will help you! Come on, copy me," He added, causing one of his hands to stop being together after resting the palm of his hand on his own chest, and nodded, indicating that he should imitate him. Akaashi watched him without any expression for a few seconds, but then chose to rest his palm on his own chest as well. “Now breathe." Bokuto inhaled air, inflating his chest, “And let go," He said, releasing a great breath.

The Ravenclaw inhaled air, but he didn’t feel any change when he exhaled air through his nose as he was used to do. “It doesn't work.”

"That's because you're not doing it how it’s supposed to." Bokuto scolded him, and Akaashi watched him seriously, until his eyes slid to his hands when Bokuto took his with his to rest it on his chest.

Bokuto breathed deeply, and immediately Akaashi felt the difference between the way they had both done it, since after feeling the way Bokuto inhaled allowing his chest to inflate after filling his lungs with air, he also noticed how he allowed the air to leave his body through his lips, as well as he was able to feel the tranquility that accompanied Bokuto’s figure after having done the exercise, and the steady beats of his heart, right where their hands were. The sensation was the same one he used to have when he fell asleep with his head on his chest. He felt protected, free of all problems. The impression that nothing mattered as long as he could continue to witness the calm rhythm of his body.

Bokuto watched him smiling warmly when Akaashi continued with his eyes on their hands, since apparently his idea had finally let him continue to relax him even if he had done otherwise at firts, and he then copied the Ravenclaw after also placing his eyes on the hands that were still resting on his chest, although their other hands remained united between them two. "My hands are smaller than yours," He said, laughing softly, and then smiling quietly because he liked his eyesight to be the palm of Akaashi's hand on his chest and his on his, their slight difference in skin tone being evident.

"I think my fingers are longer than yours," Akaashi commented, smiling sideways.

And he smiled even more when he realized the irony of the situation, since anyone who knew them, never hesitated to express how different they were.

But just as he was the one who always remained calm while Bokuto cheered the others with his energetic personality, at that moment the Hufflepuff had been the one to reassure him with both his words and gestures, while he remained with all his senses awakened after allowing tension to accompany him as well as the extensive need to think about absolutely everything. Bokuto had managed to relax him because sometimes they needed their roles to be exchanged. He had completely forgotten about the rain, and he felt completely protected as well as comfortable.

He was observed by Bokuto when he stopped holding his palm on his chest as well as his other hand joined to his, but the Hufflepuff smiled again when his hands slid down to his neck to pull him towards him and get their lips back together again, demonstrating further that he had never considered that the kiss between them had been a mistake. Bokuto flexed his legs at the same time that he clasped his hands behind Akaashi's lower back, taking advantage of having made that movement to draw him towards him and in that way shorten the distance between them much more, and then crossed his legs again so that Akaashi was imprisoned in him and with his legs at the sides of his waist. His chests were those in meeting for that occasion, and the closeness between the two continued to diminish when Bokuto hugged him with more force at the same time that Akaashi continued with his hands on his neck, he assuring him that he considered it a success to kiss him instead of a mistake, and Bokuto making him understand that for him it was the most correct closeness.

Bokuto felt that his breathing remained calm as well as that his heart began to beat with speed, since Akaashi managed to provoke all those sensations just by being next to him, with his hands on his neck and his lips on his. He made him feel calm because his company gave him that tranquility, but also aroused all his senses because there was nothing that made him feel more alive than when he was with him and more like that, not even when he was on his broom around the quidditch field.

And both took the opportunity to continue knowing each other, because while the kiss between them, had been shared so that they understood that their feelings were reciprocal and that there was nothing to fear since there was no possibility of the existence of a one-sided love, on that occasion they took the moment to show each other that they were no longer in a hurry, that they no longer needed the minutes to pass by because the basis on which their emotions and decisions were, had already been established. It was a slow kiss, an understanding of affection and a calm demonstration of feelings that allowed them to see that the only thing that would change between them, would be the addition of more physical contact and the quickness of their hearts, because although Bokuto was accustomed to hug him suddenly and no one had any doubt that he was in good shape, at that time only Akaashi was the one that had the chance to lower his hands to his shoulders and then through his arms, choosing to allow his fingers to surround the muscles that defined Bokuto’s body. It was the opportunity for them to also begin to become familiar with other parts of their bodies besides their lips, which continued to taste each other's softness with patience and emotion. Bokuto took advantage of the fact that his hoodie was big enough for Akaashi to slide his hands underneath him and be able to trace vertical paths on his back over his shirt, because although they had just established that his hands were smaller or that Akaashi's fingers were longer, that didn’t take away that his hands continued to make the younger look to be caressed, to keep getting closer to him. Bokuto knew he should consider himself lucky because the prettiest boy at Hogwarts seemed to feel the same way he felt for him, although he not only considered Akaashi to be the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on for his presence, but because his personality was the necessarily mysterious but sure so that he was like a clumsy crawling behind him on his own. He adored him in all his senses, and he smiled in the middle of the kiss when he felt Akaashi's hands rest in his arms, wanting to feel the strength of that part of his body in where he remained imprisoned and didn’t seek to free himself, understanding that he wasn’t the only one of the both to consider himself lucky.

They had taken the rain as an excuse as well as the words exchanged to allow the intensity of the moment to grow thanks to what they both felt for each other and the sensations they managed to awaken each other both in their hearts and in their bodies, and Bokuto continued smiling when he separated from Akaashi only by a few millimeters to allow his breaths to try to stabilize, and he moved his hands from Akaashi's back to rest one on his waist and lift the other to run his lower lip with his thumb, his eyes fixed on them because he just wanted to keep kissing him, but suddenly he stopped keeping the gold of his pupils in those when they heard that someone knocked on the door, and Akaashi lowered his hands to his abdomen to gently pull on his shirt as well as he ran his face on the side of his, as if he wanted to use him as a shield in case the door of the room was opened, and Bokuto just kept smiling when he heard one of his housemates.

“Bo, are you there?” He heard Konoha say from the other side of the door.

“Yeah.” He answered without even knowing how, since the only thing he could think about was the boy next to him.

“We'll come in a little bit.”

Akaashi's hands on his abdomen, the tips of his fingers just a layer of clothes away from brushing the skin of his stomach, his lips already tasted just a few millimeters of his, his breathing trying to calm down by tickling his mouth, some of his little black curls caressing his forehead, his legs at the sides of his body, and his body imprisoned with his. He only remembered that he had to answer because Akaashi tugged gently on his shirt.

“Okay!” He replied, and they both heard Konoha’s steps going away, who had only warned them that they would arrive in a while so that they wouldn’t be found in a compromising situation. Bokuto then saw Akaashi with an amused smile. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” He asked him, unable to avoid speaking with an entertained voice as he placed one of his hands on his neck to caress him.

"No..." Akaashi opted to rest his head between his shoulder and his neck as well as to raise his palms back to his chest. “I just don’t like being seen.”

“You don’t like public affection?” Bokuto asked, and the younger just made a slow movement with his head to respond with a denial. “Then we'll have to spend a lot of time here because I'm sure all I want to do is kiss you.”

Akaashi straightened as soon as he heard him, and Bokuto watched him as he looked at his lips again. "Hogwarts is a big castle, Bokuto-san." He expressed.

The aforementioned arched an eyebrow, being amused.

“Are you proposing something, Akaashi?”

The Ravenclaw seemed to want to straighten Bokuto's shirt when he ran his fingers through his chest. "I'm just saying facts," Akaashi began to say with his best innocence, “It is known that Hogwarts has several corners,” Bokuto started to smile completely animated when he heard him while he raised his hand to one of his cheeks to make a caress, pleased with the way his fingers could feel his soft, warm and delicate skin. “Some of which turn out to be somewhat… private." Akaashi licked his own lips, “But if I haven’t heard wrong, Konoha-san mentioned that they will come in a little bit, right?” He asked, and finally looked up to watch Bokuto nod. “Many things can happen in a little bit, don’t you think Bokuto-san?”

Bokuto took advantage of having a hand resting on his waist to finish get him completely closer to him until his hips met and both their abdomens and chests were only separated by Akaashi’s hands, in whose neck he kept his other hand while the younger swallow with heaviness. “Yes, I think so," He agreed, and they both looked at each other before joining their lips again. 

* * *

Kenma was aware that according to all his housemantes, the Ravenclaw Tower was a comfortable place to sleep considering that the sound of the wind whistling around the windows was relaxing; but when it was a strong wind, what he least wanted was to be in his common room or room, because he felt everything but relaxed. Although at that time he also didn’t feel completely calm, and not necessarily due to weather conditions.

He felt that his head had begun to beat and that his trembling hands on the electronic device in which game he couldn’t concentrate, were the only part of his body that continued to respond to him through a weak signal while the rest of his body was about break into several pieces if he continued to be extremely rigid and completely tense.

Although not for the rain as well as the roof over him that expressed it, but for what that had accustomed him to do, because since he had memory, the rain had always scared him, and therefore, also from he could remember, he had always passed the stormy nights in Kuroo's room. He had grown accustomed to arriving at his house completely wet after not having cared to cross the street with the drops falling on him while he could spend the night with the one who had always made him feel safe as well as managed to forget what kind of weather was happening outside his room. The older one had always taken care of distracting him when the sun was falling and the bad weather didn’t seem to end. Kenma had grown accustomed to Kuroo drying his hair with a towel while scolding him for getting wet and for the idea of getting sick just for not remembering to use an umbrella even if only a few meters were the ones that separated the houses of both, although later he always made sure that he felt comfortable by his side while it continued to rain outside.

And Kenma was aware of how difficult it was to get rid of old habits. Since without having to say a word, after dinner he had approached Kuroo, who had been sitting at the table of his house in the Great Hall while the others Slytherins like the rest, left the place to take advantage of being a Friday night even if it was raining. He took place at his side having left only an inch between them so that there was no chance of their bodies brushing, and therefore, to prevent Kenma felt intense heat on his cheeks, which anyway he hadn’t been able to prevent feeling even if his elbow didn’t touch Kuroo's. He kept his hands on the electronic device and his eyes fixed on the screen, having managed to completely forget the rain, since the presence of the one next to him caused the whirlwind of emotions enough to distract him from anything.

But Kenma's eyes only stopped being on the screen of his electronic device when he glimpsed the tip of Kuroo's wand moving within his field of vision, without even noticing when he had removed it from his uniform, and continued to see how from the tip, a short row of smoke came out to tarnish a small part of the table as if it were a window, and watched Kuroo move his wand until the face of a cat was drawn on it, as if he had done the same with his fingers.

Kenma pursed his lips, but anyway he couldn't prevent a small sideways smile from appearing on his face, and for the same reason Kuroo held an equal gesture on his face. Kuroo’s presence by his side has distracted him enough not to have glimpsed that the Slytherin had remained seated and never stood on purpose, because he knew that the one next to him wasn’t a fanatic of the nights when the rain was the only thing that could be heard, since no matter how much emotional or physical distance was between them, they continued to know each other perfectly.

And while two of the Ravenclaws continued to consider themselves true rivals of the stormy nights even if they had their respective ways of dealing with it, Ennoshita had become friends with the weather once he sat hugging his knees, behind the railing that kept him from being wet by the stream of drops that came from the sky. He was alone since no other student chose to stay near the indoor gardens when it rained, both because of the bad weather and because of the cold that the same implied. But he was well wrapped up and the stormy nights stopped displeasing him once he was no longer in the Ravenclaw Tower. Finding himself far from the gray clouds made his fear of that kind of climate disappear, and that he even enjoyed it for the tranquility it offered him, even though the thunder offered everything but a moment of peace. He thought that changing his perspective point meant changing what he thought about the abundant excess of water around him, and he didn’t think anyone would reflect like him, until he felt a slight kick near his ankle.

“What do you want now?” He asked immediately when he stopped looking at the sky.

Neither angry nor annoyed because someone had cut with his moment of relaxation he finally had gotten after thinking that night would be one of the many in which he wouldn’t manage sleep because of the climate around him, but entertained because even the presence of the one who appeared by his side made him forget even more of the storm.

“Now you know how it feels when someone interrupts you all the time with his annoying presence,” Yahaba said referring to all the times the Ravenclaw had annoyed him since the classes had begun, which could already be traced several months ago.

And although Ennoshita rolled his eyes, he didn’t bother when Yahaba imitated him sitting in the same way in front of him, managing to observe how he was able to capture the same sensation that invaded his own body when he saw falling drops of clouds that could no longer been see through the darkness of the sky. The two remained silent for a few minutes, delighting in the image of a viewpoint of the storm that few used to have, since not everyone chose to sit near the interior gardens and raise their eyes to the sky when it rained. They felt their bodies relax as they heard the drops fall on the fountains that already had more water, if they weren't frozen, at the same time they saw the same tracing different paths by sliding differently on the columns.

"You know, when I beat you, you can only blame yourself," Yahaba suddenly said, along with a sideways smile that quickly made Ennoshita observe him confused, “Because I'm on the team again and I'm going to win over you." He explained, increasing the size of his smile.

Yahaba had decided to reward the mistakes he had made and the actions he had taken because he really wanted to earn the trust of his teammates, who in any case hadn’t hesitated to show him that he had certainly never been considered outside the team because the attempt of training he had had among the team's beaters, had shown him that they were willing to trust him while he did the same, because although they had only managed to stand on their brooms for a few minutes before it started to rain and so they should take refuge in the castle, he anyway had spent the afternoon with the other beaters of the team to which he hadn’t doubt to return as soon as he was given the opportunity to do so, team to which he had decided to join again to defeat the boy that in that moment smiled honestly although his words had been provocative.

"I'm happy," Ennoshita expressed sincerely.

The two looked at each other for a second before resting their eyes on the dark sky again, but it was a matter of minutes before the silence between them was interrupted.

“What will you do in the break?” Yahaba asked, resuming the conversation.

The Ravenclaw certainly remained intrigued by the reason for that question.

“Nothing interesting. Be bored, I guess,"

“You will be with your family?”

Ennoshita shook his head. “My parents always go on a trip so for a full week I stay at the house of my oldest stepbrother and his family. Their children are of an age similar to ours, but they are very childish for my taste," He answered.

Yahaba saw the opportunity in front of him, that being the reason why he had approached him as soon as he saw him.

“And if I propose something funnier?”

Ennoshita cocked his head at the same time that he smiled extremely entertaining.

“I am so easy to miss that you are inviting me to spend the winter break with you? I didn’t know you could have feelings for someone, much less for me. You impress me, Yahaba.”

The Slytherin observed him dumbfounded while Ennoshita continued smiling amused. Since he had promised Kenma that he wouldn’t approach the Slytherins to bother them, he took every opportunity to annoy them when they were the ones approaching him. And reality was that he missed continuing to bother them, so he realized that if he accepted the invitation that Yahaba hadn’t yet proposed with the indicated words, he would have a full week to reward all the comments that he reserved after respecting Kenma’s request.

"Futakuchi won’t come with me," Yahaba said, “And I don’t like to be alone in my house, so if you want you can come.”

Instead of asking him why he mentioned the lonely holidays, Ennoshita concentrated on his first words and brought both hands to his chest.

“Auch. I’m the second option.”

He laughed as soon as he glimpsed Yahaba's unimpressed expression.

Seven full days to annoy him. He would consider himself a fool if he wasted that wonderful opportunity.

"All right, I'll go." He accepted.

“I’m so easy to miss that you accepted that fast?”

Ennoshita narrowed his eyes when Yahaba copied his previous words, and the Slytherin became the one to be entertained by the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The compartments of the Hogwarts Express can be occupied not necessarily to talk.


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to the one and only, Oikawa Tooru 👑
> 
> Previously, Akaashi told Ennoshita that he kissed Bokuto and then left without explaining anything.

All the compartments of the Hogwarts Express were occupied by the students who had decided to return to their homes during the winter break, to spend the holidays with their respective families while others had chosen to remain in the castle. The vast majority was on the train, so it was no surprise that there were students walking from one side to the other while others preferred to sit in their own compartments.

Daichi had chosen to speak with Suga at the end of the aisle after having surrendered with the three sixth-year students who belonged to his house, who had done nothing more than be as noisy as ever since they had got up the train without being able to remain sitting, so he hadn’t hesitated to remain chatting with the Slytherin that managed to replace his impatience with a sense of cool tranquility, and not only because the two were prefects. And yet, there was no need for the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team to stop having an entertaining moment with Suga so that one of those who made up the problematic trio of sixth year, stopped making antics with his friends after recognizing a person with black hair who was about to enter his compartment.

“Are you going back to your house?” Tanaka asked Ennoshita.

He knew the Ravenclaw didn’t like the idea of the winter break, since he used to spend it with his older stepbrother with whom, although he had a good relationship, it didn’t indicate that it was a good plan, so the idea of inviting him some days to his own house didn’t sound bad in his head.

Ennoshita remained one step away from entering his compartment, and chose to lean his back on the other side of the aisle, near the window which glass was completely frozen due to the weather that didn’t seem to improve. "Actually, for some strange reason I'll be spending the holidays with Yahaba," He replied before letting out a little confused laugh.

Tanaka remained totally perplexed.

“Yahaba?” Ennoshita nodded, "I thought you didn’t get along." The Gryffindor added.

"We don’t," Ennoshita laughed again, managing to confuse Tanaka even more. “Well, we do, but... whatever, I'll spend the holidays with him," He said after not knowing how to explain the kind of strange relationship he had with Yahaba.

Tanaka smiled forcefully, although the Ravenclaw didn’t notice since his attention was rested on the person he glimpsed walking towards the compartment they had previously shared, and he only gave Tanaka a quick farewell smile before approaching Akaashi and holding his hand, and both of them suddenly found themselves in the compartment, with the difference that at that time Akaashi with his back on the ground and he on top of him instead of the two seated as they had been before with Kenma, who had left to remain talking with Hinata near the candy cart.

"I'm starting to think you have an obsession with being on me while I'm lying down," Akaashi expressed when suddenly the ground was what his back found.

“Well, considering that Tanaka doesn’t see me the way I want, somehow I have to release my frustrations.” Ennnoshita held a smile as honest as false.

“Auch. I’m the second option.”

"Never. You're the first one in my heart, I'll assure you that." Ennoshita winked at him as he held a winning smile, without not being able not to giggle, since only a few days ago he had expressed the same words to Yahaba.

“Weren’t you talking with him just now?” Akaashi barely raised his head to look down the hall, for while he had remained with his thoughts centered on Bokuto, with whom he had just been and explained why his hair was disheveled and why he had a hickey near his clavicle that fortunately for him, only he could see; he had sighted his best friend talking with the Gryffindor.

“Don’t change the topic of conversation. I know what you're trying to do.” Akaashi again rested his attention on Ennoshita when he heard him, although he had no other choice considering that he was holding onto him with the palms of his hands at the sides of his head as well as with his knees at the sides of his legs. “Because you did the same before and that's why I'm talking to you now. Why did you tell me about Bokuto that way?” He finally asked.

Akaashi had left him completely stupefied when he mentioned that he had kissed Bokuto, but he had been more impressed by the fact that after mentioning that, he disappeared from the Great Hall to leave him with the intrigue.

“I have a question first.”

“You don’t even bother pretending that you want to change the topic of conversation.”

"You're the vice-captain." Although he had been about to interrupt him, Ennoshita remained silent since he didn’t expect Akaashi to utter those words, and raised an eyebrow for the same reason. “I am the captain. Why do you think we didn’t win?” He heard, and let out a sigh.

“Akaashi, it no longer makes sense to focus on a lost match.”

"Answer me.” His best friend asked him.

"I don’t know," Ennoshita seemed to seek the answer around them, for although they had barely lost, he would have been able to mention a response completely quickly, he had thought that they had already left the defeat against Hufflepuff in the past to concentrate on the game against Slytherin they had ahead of them; but Akaashi's blue eyes fixed on him, kept him talking. “We weren’t strong? Fast?” He could begin to question all the bases of the team if Akaashi wanted it that way.

“Yes, we were strong. Yes, we were fast." Akaashi determined, making him remain impressed as he had hoped that his best friend would once again explain all the reasons why they had lost the first game. “We faced last year's champion."

“Then why did we lose?”

“We weren’t in our best shape. I was distracted and so were you. And why?”

“Bokuto didn’t stop screaming at you, you were distacted and I annoyed for the same.”

“Exactly. If I hadn’t focused on Bokuto-san, we could have had more chances.”

Ennoshita arched an eyebrow again.

"Akaashi, don’t start doubting yourself," He said, because although maybe his best friend had changed the way he saw the team, maybe he still thought the same about himself, that he didn’t deserve to be captain.

"I just want you to listen to me," Akaashi asked, and continued speaking when Ennoshita let out a sigh of surrender. “We were dynamic, but our strategies were demolished with pure force. You and I know that we didn’t lose because Kunimi was bewitched, but because all our plays were passed over by Hufflepuff. We don’t have their strength, the intimidation Slytherin represents, nor are we unpredictable as Gryffindor either. We are not an aggressive team. And if we can’t be aggressive in the quidditch field, then we can be aggressive outside of it.”

Ennoshita replaced his serious expression with a completely entertaining smile as soon as he heard him. “Akaashi Keiji, my captain, my best friend, my housemate, and I could keep going, are you asking me to look for fights? With wands or like the old fashioned way?” He raised both eyebrows repeatedly, but slowly the smile of his face returned to become a neutral expression when he was only observed in a serious way by his best friend. “We have to work harder.”

“No, you see, that's the problem. I am the one who always tells you that we shouldn’t judge other houses by their characteristics, but sometimes it’s a good thing to mark the differences. Hufflepuff works harder. Gryffindor faster, and Slytherin more determined. We have to work smarter.”

“And what do you suggest?”

“Keep a broad perspective.”

They both chose to allow the silence to be accentuated in them when Akaashi waited for Ennoshita to understand the true meaning of his words, while the other watched him, certainly wondering what he had meant.

Maintaining a broad perspective meant not focusing only on one idea, and considering that they were talking about the quidditch tournament, Ennoshita guessed that he was referring to the fact that there were four teams that composed it after competing with each other for the cup. But it wasn’t possible that he had figured out Akaashi's intentions so quickly, since he was aware that his best friend's thoughts were more complex.

"I guess I understand you," He said after glimpsing that Akaashi had certainly changed his thoughts about the way they should move in the tournament. “Who did you talk to, huh?” He asked, leaving his seriousness aside again, “Does being with Bokuto have given you all these ideas?”

Akaashi avoided smiling as soon as he knew he could answer the question with a statement, since all the words the Hufflepuff had told him were still hanging around his head, as well as the way in which their bodies had again held each other closer. “In fact, with another Ravenclaw." He decided to reply, and Ennoshita smiled sideways as he narrowed his eyes when he heard his proud tone of voice.

“One that is not me? And you had the nerve to complain just when you said you were a second option?” Ennoshita stopped keeping him completely imprisoned when he chose to straighten up and cross his arms, “I'm offended." He closed his eyes as well as raised his chin.

“I'm talking to you now, ain’t I?”

Ennoshita opened one of his eyes to watch Akaashi resting on his elbows, watching him with a stunned expression. "Okay, I'm not offended anymore," He snorted before allowing his arms to fall to the sides of his body. "No, wait! Of course I'm offended!” He exclaimed suddenly as he rested his hands on his own waist. “Is that why you told me about Bokuto, so you could leave?” He asked, since it hadn’t taken him long to know that Akaashi had mentioned those words only to be able to leave without him following him after being stupefied, and the fact that his best friend smiled at that moment, assured him that he had thought the right thing. “You are incredible. So you did kiss him.”

“Thanks to you and whatever you said to him.”

“Give yourself a little credit, it's your lips what he kisses apparently.”

Ennoshita looked at him smiling satisfied while Akaashi again held a stunned expression. He was happy that finally his words had worked and therefore Bokuto's, too, as he had never doubted the feelings of his best friend were reciprocated, which at that moment led him to realize that Akaashi should accept that he he was the one who was right, but before he could accompany his expression of fulfillment with words, he turned his head as Akaashi turned his gaze to the door of the compartment when they both heard that it was opened, and Kenma interspersed his gaze between them.

“Should I pretend that I didn’t see anything?” He asked, since he had hoped not to find anyone, or the two of them chatting, although he wasn’t totally surprised with the scene in front of him anyway.

“Akaashi kissed Bokuto.”

Anyone would have continued to be confused, but those words were enough for Kenma to choose to close the door of the compartment behind him to to join the scene with which he was received after deciding to sit on the hips and part of Akaashi's stomach after taking place in front of Ennoshita, who smiled satisfied before crossing his arms over the chest of the newcomer.

“Kenma, don’t ally with him please,” Akaashi said before releasing a sigh to rest again his head on the ground, giving up with the idea of being able to break free because now there were two people sitting on him, although at least he could cross his arms.

The one mentioned simply stuck out his tongue, letting him know that he was on Ennoshita's side for not telling them immediately that he had kissed Bokuto, but while he continued with the tip of his tongue out and Akaashi gave him a serious look, Ennoshita suddenly tilted his head.

“Wait, I just realized something, why do you call him Kenma and you call me by my last name?”

"In our second year he threatened me with his wand." Akaashi replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world, while he remembered why he had started calling one of his best friends by name, and he didn’t doubt to keep throwing a serious look at Kenma when in his head appeared the image of him pointing at him with his wand when they were only twelve years old, but he stopped observing him when he saw movement by Ennoshita. “Don’t even try it.” He determined after intuiting that he was trying to remove his wand, and Ennoshita snorted before returning to keep his wand, as he was aware that although he was under them, Akaashi was still able to win in that situation.

"I feel relegated to a lower place." Ennoshita crossed his arms as well as frowned.

“Considering that you are on top of me, that Kenma is on your side, and that I am the one with his back on the floor, you shouldn’t complain.”

Ennoshita replaced his offended expression with a funny smile. “I'm just rewarding the time we will spend separated during these days.”

“Oh yes, I wonder how we will sleep separately.”

"I won’t miss you." Kenma interrupted.

“Kenma!”

He allowed a small giggle to leave his lips when he heard his two best friends exclaim his name in that way, which didn’t allow him to glimpse the complicity look Ennoshita and Akaashi shared, and therefore, he was completely surprised when suddenly Ennoshita crossed his arms in front of his chest, although on that occasion, to lie on the floor with him on top of him to allow Akaashi to be the one to be on top of them after lying on top of Kenma at the same time he poke Kenma’s stomach with his finger, and the three of them started to laugh when the tickle against Kenma turned into a war of all against all.

The three of them continued laughing, and the one Kenma had been with before, instead of wondering why he had seen three people on the floor and not sitting like everyone else, entered the compartment so he could throw all the candy he had bought on the seat. Hinata threw a packet of chocolate wands at Kageyama, who glared at him after receiving the candy on his face, although he stopped focusing on him when he caught a glimpse of his favorite candy, and the redhead looked at him smiling as he enjoyed the chocolate balls.

“And Kageyama? What are you going to do for Christmas?” He asked him.

"Don’t talk with your mouth full, dumbass," The mentioned one replied, who contradicted himself after talking while enjoying the chocolate wands, “I don’t know, the same as always I guess," He added with a slight shrug, “I never do anything funny.”

“Really? I always have fun with my younger sister.”

“I don’t have siblings, and my parents aren’t very interested in parties.”

“Do you want to come and spend Christmas with me then?”

Kageyama almost choked on the chocolate wand he had begun to enjoy after hearing the question Hinata decided to drop without any detour. It wasn’t a strange question or a string of words that impressed easily, so he knew that his surprise was because he didn’t expect to feel suddenly excited when Hinata mentioned those words, and who at that time laughed totally amused at the view of him, making Kageyama serious again and even look at him badly for having laughed at him.

"I bet Natsu will like to meet you." Hinata added after remembering that Kageyama and her younger sister already knew each other because she had kicked him when they had crossed paths with him in Diagon Alley.

Kageyama glared at him knowing that he was thinking about that occasion, but then interspersed his gaze between the chocolate wands that remained in the package and the orange-haired one that remained sitting in front of him while watching him with a smile on his face while enjoying his own sweets.

"Sure, why not," He said, agreeing to spend the festivities with him.

Hinata gave him a smile, and suddenly they both looked behind him when they heard someone or something crashing into the wall they shared with the back compartment, but they only shrugged before continuing to pounce on all the candy one of them had bought.

"They'll find us out if you're so clumsy," Hanamaki moved away by just a millimeter from the one that had caused them to make a noise that had surely caught the attention of those in the compartment next to theirs.

The two had locked the door and lowered the blind to prevent the curious people bothering them, but from what they had glimpsed before committing to their own, the only two people willing to meet at the end of the corridor of the express were the captain of the Gryffindor's Quidditch team and Suga, and they knew that Daichi wasn’t a person to whom others approached while chatting with others, so the presence of those two would only give them more privacy, and even cover their voices when speaking.

"And then they’ll find out that I’m the only one who kisses the cutest boy," Matsukawa mentioned, looking at the lips of the one who was lying under him, and gave him a small caress on the cheek.

Although Hanamaki rolled his eyes, he didn’t prevent a blush from appearing on his face.

Matsukawa one was half lying on him, since the two had taken place in the same seat, and while Hanamaki kept his back against the wall although each time he seemed to fall more and more, Matsukawa had sat down beside him only to at that moment almost be on top of him because they didn’t tolerate space being between them.

They again joined their mouths and let their tongues meet at the same time the pink-haired one finally ended completely under the other, feeling satisfied with the emotions that Matsukawa caused in his body just by being totally close. He was already used to feeling that kind of adrenaline rush through his body when he was with him, and yet he always liked to realize that that pleasant feeling never failed to appear no matter how many times they had found themselves in that position.

“Did you also notice that Oikawa and Iwaizumi are something... I don’t know... weird?” Hanamaki asked when his mouth was free once Matsukawa started using his lips to kiss his neck.

“Why do you think we left them alone? The tension was about to break the window of the compartment," The other replied as he continued kissing his neck, smiling after hearing that his companion enjoyed the meeting of his lips on the skin of that part of his body.

The two had decided to change of compartment after realizing that although the four were in the same, Oikawa and Iwaizumi seemed to be each within their own thoughts, the first reading a book while the second looked out the window, because although they never let an opportunity pass to bother them, they also understood when it was better not to get involved, or in that situation, to leave.

"I hope nothing bad is happening between them," Hanamaki mentioned.

Matsukawa was just as aware that he knew what Iwaizumi felt about Oikawa, and in the end he was just as worried about the mood of the one who still didn’t seem to have confessed what he felt, so he stopped giving pleasure to his companion to cross glances with him while he contoured the edge of his lips with his thumb.

“Iwaizumi hadn’t told us he confessed, so I don’t think that's the problem," He said.

“Then what could it be?” Matsukawa shrugged, having no idea what to answer. "I hope they’re fine by the time we get back to Hogwarts," Hanamaki added as he ran his fingers through the black hair of the one on top of him.

“Wanna bet?”

The pink-haired one smiled totally entertained when he heard the words that had become the most used by both since they had begun to think about the kind of relationship their two best friends could had.

"I bet they'll be fine by the time we get back," He opted to say.

Matsukawa frowned. “I wanted to bet that,” He complaint.

Hanamaki kissed him before laughing at him and his expression.

“Then don’t bet. I just hope they kiss.”

"They should definitely kiss each other." Matsukawa agreed.

“We should kiss.”

At those words and Hanamaki’s captivating smile, Matsukawa considered himself capable of fulfilling his request, and joined his lips to his in the middle of a smile.

The two continued to enjoy their privacy provided by the fact that two of the prefects were talking near their compartment, who at that moment momentarily stopped their conversation to wave at Yaku, who had left the compartment he had been sharing with Inuoka and Kai only to suddenly end up inside another compartment which door Lev closed before standing against it with a smile on his face, while Yaku raised an eyebrow because what he least needed was to be alone with him, since having accepted his feelings didn’t mean that he had decided to act on them.

He felt that it was complicated to know that he was attracted to Lev, and although he had concluded that he wouldn’t kick him out whenever he approached because he had already tired of doing it and only received a denial in response, he wouldn’t try anything to change the relationship they had, which was based on the fifth-year interrupting him with some silly excuse of why he appeared before him. He preferred to reserve his feelings and concentrate on himself.

“Yaku-san!” Lev exclaimed totally happy.

He sat down next to the seventh-year that surreptitiously moved away from him, and the younger continued to smile widely without noticing that small detail although the seat wasn’t that long either.

“Why have you locked me here, Lev?” He asked.

"You don’t need me to be quiet today, right?”

Yaku couldn’t help but giggle honestly when he heard him.

Somehow he had managed to make the fifth-year began to learn to remain silent since he always decided to interrupt when he was studying, so the deal had been that he would stay without speaking if he wanted to be at his side, but at that time they could be considered momentarily on vacations, so Yaku didn’t need Lev to remain with his mouth closed so he could concentrate on some book.

"I'm afraid to answer no." Yaku replied.

“Will you be with your family?”

“Yeah, what about you? Will you go to Russia?”

"Not really, my sister is coming to visit so I'll stay," He said smiling.

Yaku gave him a simple smile before looking away.

He didn’t understand why Lev had locked them in that compartment, nor why he felt the same was beginning to shrink as the seconds passed and he felt that the space was eliminated even if the place continued with the same measure and Lev was still at the same distance from him.

“Yaku-san,” The mentioned one rested his eyes on him when he heard him, “Can I kiss you?”

Although he hadn’t been moving for the last few minutes, Yaku remained motionless when he heard him. He hadn’t expected him to mention that question, much less that he was so direct, but he pretended to be extremely calm because he didn’t want Lev to discover what was the real reason why he allowed him to keep him company even if that meant continuing to fall behind with his homework. He smiled sideways, pretending not to be totally nervous.

“Lev, are you aware of what you have asked?”

Fortunately his tone of voice was the same as always.

"Yes, I am," He answered.

But the nervousness inside him continued to grow. Maybe Lev had chosen to play a joke on him and had decided that those words were the best to mock him, although Yaku believed that with all the times he had hit him, the fifth-year had learned that to joke with him and make him angry, he had to mention his height. Or maybe Daichi had decided to plunge into the situation to make him stop rejecting what he felt, but he didn’t think that was possible either because he had sighted him chatting with Suga, and that meant that he wouldn't be interested in something or someone else.

"You can’t ask that question, someone could get angry with you." He expressed.

“But I only asked you the question.”

Yaku felt that his heart was about to pierce his chest and bounce inside the three walls and a door between which they were at that moment. For him, being aware of what he felt wasn’t the same as being happy with that. He didn’t like having accepted that he saw Lev in a way he didn’t do with anyone else. With his greenish gaze and his funny and immature personality, he had managed to capture his attention. He had managed to capture his interest, and that was the reason why he was allowed to distract him.

But it was impossible for Lev to feel the same for him.

“Yaku-san,” The seventh-year boy smiled falsely when he heard him, "You didn’t say no to my question."

Yaku swallowed nervously when he heard him and felt a chill go all over his body when he felt Lev's fingers take his chin to make him stop trying to avoid him after looking at any object in the compartment, and remained motionless when that next to him eliminated any distance between them as he placed his lips on his in a soft and warm way that he let happened.

The seventh-year couldn’t appreciate the greenish color of his eyes because Lev looked down once he separated from him, that being the first time he saw him without smiling and without dedicating his typical smile to him that he adored and annoyed at the same time.

"I like you, Yaku-san," He heard him say, and opened his eyes like two large plates when he visualized a fringe of blush on the younger’s cheeks. "I don’t know what excuses to say to be next to you anymore," He added.

A smile appeared on Yaku's face after realizing that Lev was aware of the poor excuses he had always expressed when he appeared to hang out with him, whether they were quiet or not. He always interrupted him suddenly, and sometimes he didn’t even explain why he stayed by his side instead of doing something else. Even the last few times he had stopped making excuses and being honest about why he was sitting next to him.

Yaku opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

The voice of his best friend suddenly appeared in his head, telling him to leave everything aside and really think what he felt for the fifth-year. He was aware that he was also just thinking about excuses instead of acting the way he really wanted to. For a long time he had accepted what happened to him whenever Lev appeared to distract him. He considered him adorably annoyed, and he was surprised at the way his clumsy mouth shut up so that he could concentrate, although he had failed to do it anyway because it wasn’t enough for him to remain speechless in order to focus on his studies. Even not being with him, Yaku was distracted thinking about him.

Brave.

That was the only word that appeared in Yaku's mind.

The seventh-year believed that he had been placed in Gryffindor not because he was brave all the time, but at times when it was necessary for him to be so. Yaku saw himself as capable to overcome a situation no matter how many obstacles appeared before him, and as the kind of person who managed to face the fears that he himself sometimes caused by fear of failing. Many times he had felt on the verge of considering himself a coward, a person who couldn’t see beyond the difficulties he imposed on himself. But he believed, and he was proud to be able to say that one of his virtues was the great courage with which he carried. He had lost the fear and had forgotten what it was like to think he couldn’t face a situation, until Lev had appeared in his life.

The fifth-year challenged the courage that characterized him because he represented all the obstacles that Yaku was afraid to confront. Their personalities were extremely different and he believed that the distance was imposed in the two years that separated them both. Lev distinguished himself by always holding a smile on his face, being direct no matter how much his words could affect the other, and acting in an appetizing way. While he had ceased to be the brave person he had managed to be, only because he found someone who finally turned out to have the same kind of courage as him. Yaku was afraid because his willpower was eliminated when it came to Lev.

But at that moment he understood that the fifth-year couldn’t be the only one of the two to be considered brave after expressing aloud what he felt, after always appearing although he had never given a sign that his presence made him extremely happy even if he couldn’t study because of him. Yaku couldn’t allow Lev to be the only one of the two who could manifest himself no matter what the consequences of his words and his actions were, and for the first time, being brave indicated that he would get rid of his willpower.

He found himself in that greenish gaze once those eyes settled on him at the same time that he left his hands on his pink cheeks. And he decided that what could demonstrate how brave he was, was to show what he truly felt and what he had been repressing within him up to that moment, so he considered himself the bravest person in his entire house when he made their mouths meet for the second time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Not all Christmas dinners are calm.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that FINALLY I'm on a break I'm trying to organize three aus and my brain is like haha nope, not functioning after all those finals
> 
> Writing kinkuni always makes the world a better place

Kageyama let out a yawn before heading to the door of his house after hearing the doorbell and not being anyone but him, although once he opened it, it wasn’t the strong breeze of wind that cleared him of all traces of sleep, but the image of a redhead who he knew too well, holding the hand of a smaller redhead who wasn’t also a total stranger. Their orange hair was barely divisible after being hidden under beanies of various colors, and after scanning them with his gaze, Kageyama cocked his head.

“What are you doing here, dumbass?” He expressed after having recognized Hinata, and who he assumed was his younger sister.

He had insulted him just for the sake of it, and because he was used to it, but as soon as the present girl heard him, Kageyama didn’t hesitate to hide behind the door when he heard her growling, because although several months had passed, he still remembered the way she could kick him if she wanted to.

"Natsu, don’t be like that!" Hinata scolded her, making his younger sister watch him.

“But he called you dumbass!”

"It's okay," He expressed, since he was also used to Kageyama calling him that way instead of his name, “What do I do here?” Hinata added after raising his sight to rest it on Kageyama, who after realizing he wouldn’t be kicked, again found himself at the door, although he was certainly far away because Natsu watched him with her eyes half closed. “It's your birthday! Happy Birthday!” He exclaimed before he released his sister to pounce on him and thus provide a warm hug in a cheerful way, making Kageyama remain completely stiff. That day was certainly his birthday, but he didn’t remember ever mentioning to the one who at that moment separated from him to continue holding the same emotional smile that characterized him. “Say happy birthday, Natsu.”

The aforementioned was reluctant to do so after crossing her arms and staying in her place, but after Hinata gave her a slight push on the back, the girl advanced a few steps at the same time that Kageyama bent down, finding himself more nervous than in any another Quidditch game, that when he had done the try-outs for the Gryffindor team, or when he was with someone from his previous Quidditch team. Natsu cocked her head at the same time she raised an eyebrow, and inspected him with her gaze as Kageyama watched her seriously. The little girl interposed her gaze between him and her older brother, who through a gesture of hands told her to hug him, and after watching him for a few seconds, Natsu replaced her serious face with a smile equal to Hinata's before surrounding Kageyama's neck with her arms.

“Hey! Why do you hug her!?”

Kageyama giggled after hearing Hinata complain, because while he had remained still with him, he gave a gentle pat to Natsu when she embraced him.

“Happy Birthday!” Natsu expressed giving him her best smile.

"Thank you," Kageyama thanked her, and Hinata grimaced in outrage when even his younger sister won a grateful smile, and didn’t hesitate to cross his arms when once she straightened up, Natsu remained held by Kageyama's hand instead of returning with him. “How did you know it's my birthday?” Kageyama asked.

"You mentioned it while you were sleeping," Hinata replied, pretending to continue offended.

“We don’t sleep in the same room.”

“Well, we should change that so I don’t have to go looking for you every time I want to play quidditch!” The redhead passed by him.

Kageyama looked down at Natsu, who exchanged glances with him, and after they both shrugged, he closed the door to suddenly find himself on his birthday with two redheads, who seemed to specify why they were siblings when Natsu let go of his hand to, like his brother, run to the white background that turned out to be the backyard of his house. “Snow war!” The two shouted at the same time, and although Kageyama remained stupefied for a few seconds, then he didn’t hesitate to run at full speed to push Hinata against the mattress of snow that had formed and thus win time and start making small snowballs himself while he couldn’t help but laugh when Hinata chewed snow for having hit head-on against it, and because he also hadn’t expected his birthday to suddenly become fun, since Natsu also pounced on his brother to prevent him from straightening up.

* * *

 “I feel like a house elf.”

“You do know that in fact they enjoy doing the chores, right?”

“Right.”

“And that in fact there are several of them who are free, right?”

“Kunimi, we are not at Hogwarts so please don’t throw in my face all of your knowledge.”

The mentioned one pursed his lips to avoid giggling when he heard his best friend.

He and Kindaichi were in a situation they hadn’t imagined would happen.

They were decorating the Christmas tree in Yamaguchi’s house while he and Tsukishima were in the kitchen preparing cookies, because although they hadn’t planned it, after all the times that the Hufflepuff had slept in their room, and in some occasions crossing with Kindaichi because he also happened to spend some of his nights in Ravenclaw instead of in his own room, had made the four to start to maintain certain kind of friendship, although the fact that Tsukishima and Kindaichi shared their comments against Kageyama, it had been enough for the two to get along, and for Kunimi and Yamaguchi to have someone to sigh with resignation. They would never have predicted that they would be more than classmates, but in any case, after everything that happened with Kunimi, Yamaguchi had decided that it would be a good idea to spend some time together outside of Hogwarts so that everything would remained in the past. After all, Hufflepuff had nothing to do with what happened, even though it was his house that they had played against when he had been bewitched.

But if Hufflepuff had been left out of the matter, it was because Slytherin had been immersed in it. Kindaichi once again glanced at Kunimi while he hung a small red star on the Christmas tree they half decorated. The matter had somehow been resolved in a certain way, but he still felt that he had a lot to say, and he didn’t really know how to say it either.

"Ten stars back that you're looking at me,” Luckily for him, the fact of having been sorted in different houses, hadn’t stopped Kunimi from knowing him enough to know that something was happening to him, since even though he hadn’t made his eyes cross paths with his, he had felt that he had been seeing him, and that he had even felt that he had wanted to say something to him while they had walked down there. “What’s going on?” He asked holding a golden star in his hands at the same time his eyes finally met Kindaichi’s, who sighed.

"I'm..." He didn’t know if it was a good idea to bring the subject or not, so he shrugged as he looked down at the silver star in his hands. “Angry, I guess.”

“Why?” Kunimi took the opportunity to hang the golden star, and stretched his arm towards him with the palm of his hand open.

Kindaichi intercalated his gaze between him and his hand, and then chose to give him the star so that he could hang it too. "It's not fair, no one has found out about what happened." He said.

Kunimi didn’t need him to add another word to know what he was talking about, and he glanced at him before bending over to take two silver balls and give him one so they could both continue to hang them on the small branches of the tree, again being watched by Kindaichi while they both hung them up.

“You know that Akaashi-san talked with me and I agreed that nothing was said,”

"I know, I know," Kindaichi expressed when he heard him, since Kuroo had also told him that the Ravenclaw captain would talk to his best friend so that everyone would agree to the terms they had chosen to establish. “But anyway. It's not fair.”

“Well, no,” Kunimi chose to see him, “But it already happened and it was solved. Why are you still angry? I’m not anymore.”

"Because it's my house, you know," The taller one replied, making Kunimi raise an eyebrow at the sound of his words. “I feel that as Slytherin I have been left in a bad place with you.”

“But you didn’t do anything.”

“No, but still. Futakuchi-san has only given more reasons for others to keep thinking the worst of us, for you to think the worst of us.”

Kunimi held a barely divisible smile, and bent down again to choose two plastic candy canes and give him one. “I don’t think the worst of you. You, Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san are in the same house, and whether you are in Slytherin or not, I continue to respect them and consider them closer people as well as my opinion of you hasn’t changed, so don’t worry." He shrugged before returning his attention to the Christmas tree, and Kindaichi let out a sigh before copying his actions, making Kunimi be the one to observe him. “Still angry?” He asked after giving him a star and he stay with another.

Kindaichi hung the newly obtained star. “Well, yes, I like you so it makes me angry that they've messed up with you.”

Kunimi watch him as soon as he heard him while Kindaichi continued observing the star, until suddenly his eyes opened completely as he began to look at the star as if his life depended on it after realizing the words he had expressed aloud. He was aware that he had become angry with Futakuchi no matter whom he had bewitched because he believed it was true that each represented the house to which they belonged to, as well as that he would have been angrier in case the target of his wand had been Oikawa or Iwaizumi. But he also knew that it was a special anger what he had felt, and that he continued to feel after learning that he had been the one to enchant Kunimi, since for him he was a special person.

But he hadn’t planned to say it out loud, and for the same reason he kept staring at the star he had hung, until his eyes strayed to the one Kunimi hung next to his.

“I like you too, and for the same reason you shouldn’t be mad,” He heard him said, and he dared to look at him when he bent down to take the last red stars that were in the box, but returned to rest his eyes on the stars when Kunimi straightened again. “I know you and for me you are the one who represents Slytherin, not other people." Kunimi added holding one of the stars for him to take, and after turning to him, Kindaichi hoped that the heat on his cheeks wasn’t due to the fact that it was because his skin was the same color as the red star that Kunimi gave him.

He dared to look up, and when he saw Kunimi giving him a small smile before stopping looking at him to hang the star that was left, he felt that his shoulders relaxed at the same time that the heat in his cheeks increased and he felt that his stomach stirred completely even though they hadn’t yet eaten the cookies that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were cooking. He hung the remaining star, and the big smile that accentuated his face as well as the small one that continued to be on Kunimi's face, wasn’t exactly due to the fact that they stepped away to watch the finished tree. 

* * *

Iwaizumi finally accepted that he was completely and awkwardly in love with the one who was sitting in front of him at the time. Everyone at the table talked with each other about different topics, exclaimed that they passed a certain plate of food, and laughed without stopping after having waited that dinner throughout the year. And yet, all of Iwaizumi's attention remained at rest in the brunet boy with a captivating smile who always earned the best compliments and the longest hugs when their families came together. He didn’t know at what point he had lost himself in that brownish look that at that moment knew was pretending to concentrate on chatting with his mother while Iwaizumi knew that inside Oikawa's head there were other thoughts that were taking him away from the present. He was in love with who had always been his best friend and life partner, and since they had kissed, even if it had only been for a second on two occasions, it had helped him to verify that his feelings were those, and that he couldn’t do anything to change them.

He had kissed Oikawa not only because the desire to do so consumed him, but also because he had used the moment to silence him and thus make him stop bothering him. He knew the intentions with which he had done since he had been the one to join their lips, so the part of him that was still puzzled, was the one that reminded him that he had had a second chance to kiss Oikawa, since the same had approached to do so. He had learned to read his best friend when no one else could, but it had been indecipherable to know why he had made the two kiss again for the second time. He knew him too well, and even then, he had no idea what was really going on in Oikawa’s head.

Oikawa had been acting reluctantly towards him instead of bothering him with his annoying comments or chasing him every time he found him, and he wasn’t willing to continue tolerating that he would unfold in that strange way near him, so after the dinner, when the adults continued to be at the table while they drank more than water, he approached the only child in the family to stir up his short hair. “Have you seen your uncle?” He asked Takeru, and the younger pointed to the back of the house when he heard him, though then he returned to focus on the videogame he was playing.

With his eyes he followed the direction he had indicated, only to glimpse Oikawa sitting in the backyard of the house where he lived, observing the dark sky that was accompanied by stars. Iwaizumi wasn’t surprised, since he knew Oikawa was crazy enough to go out in that weather just to be able to observe the sky, and he didn’t doubt to take the blanket he had sighted on the edge of the sofa to then go towards there.

Oikawa didn’t turn when he heard the sliding door behind him being opened, but finally stopped keeping his eyes on the sky when he felt something warm cover his shoulders, and watched Iwaizumi sit beside him, although after realizing that it was him, again his gaze rested on the sky above them.

Iwaizumi glanced at him before copying his actions, and the two remained silent for a few minutes. Until that time of the night, they had never been alone or in silence, so both seemed to think the same after letting the absence of words accompany them. Because in addition, at Hogwarts they were also used to being always with Hanamaki and Matsukawa, either in the room or outside of it, so although it seemed impossible to believe, there weren’t many moments in were they were totally alone.

“You know, it wasn’t my intention.” Iwaizumi finally said, because although he didn’t want to cut the atmosphere around them, he didn’t want the tension that had accompanied them during the express, to be present again.

“What do you mean?” Oikawa asked, still with his eyes on the sky.

"I didn't want you to think you mean nothing to me."

Iwaizumi had understood that perhaps a misunderstanding had been created between them, and only because a play on words seemed to have become something else, but at that moment he realized that perhaps it had come to an end when he glimpsed Oikawa holding a sideways smile.

"I'm glad to hear that," He said, but his smile disappeared as his eyes stopped being in the sky when Iwaizumi hit him in the head. “What was that for!?” Oikawa exclaimed watching him with a frown while rubbing his head with his hand.

However, Iwaizumi imitated him by being the one with his eyes on the sky. "Go back to ignoring me like you've been doing these days, and I'll throw you off your broom when we're playing quidditch."

“You’re mean, Iwa-chan!”

Iwaizumi giggled, and Oikawa replaced his expression with a smile. He managed to have the one by his side to see him when he gave part of the blanket to him after placing it on him too and therefore have to make their bodies stay closer so that the blanket reached both. Iwaizumi observed him at the same time that Oikawa looked at the sky again, and he later copied him and they both continued looking at the stars, until Oikawa's hands wrapped his arm and rested his head on his shoulder, and while Iwaizumi rested his head on his, from the sofa Takeru watched them with a smile on his face. __

* * *

Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s families weren’t the only ones who gathered at the festivities taking advantage of the fact that their children had returned to their homes, just as they weren’t the only ones whose houses were extremely close, because while theirs were next to each other, Kuroo's house was in front of Kenma's, although at that moment it didn’t matter since the two families were on the second's. And Iwaizumi wasn’t the only one who that night knew who was the one who made his heart beat with speed, his emotions stay mixed, his senses been altered, and his thoughts be focused on one person.

Kuroo wasted no time trying not to smile when he rested his gaze on Kenma, who he glimpsed that looked down because he had also been looking at him. A big smile appeared on his face, and he was pleased to know that that night he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stop resting his eyes on a special person.

“Tetsurou, dear, how are you doing as captain of the Slytherin team?”

He finally stopped keeping his eyes on Kenma when the mother of the latter spoke to him.

“It has turned out to be more complicated than I thought,” He replied along with a nice smile to take off the seriousness of his words, since he didn’t need to tell her that they had lost the first game because two of the players had left their positions, that one of those players bewitched a player of his son's team, and that the other had left the team because he had insinuated that he did and in the process said player had hurt himself, as well as that his confidence levels had dropped and those of his anxiety raised because from the first training, being the leader had been difficult. Yes, it was definitely better to summarize the fact of occupying that position in a few words. “But I'm still proud to have been chosen as such.” He didn’t hesitate to add, since despite all the emotions that his teammates had caused him, there were still two games to show what his team was made of, and finally he had gained Yahaba's trust.

Kenma took advantage of Kuroo seeing his mother to rest his eyes on him and observe him with attention, hoping to detect some detail that indicated the most sincere of his thoughts to contradiction the words he had just mentioned, because of those present, he was the only one who really knew all Kuroo was dealing with.

“What about you, Kenma? You're still playing, right? How has Ravenclaw gone?” Kuroo's father asked.

"We lost." He answered.

Kuroo covered his mouth to avoid laughing when he saw the expression of discomfort of his father after hearing that concise answer, but decided to relax his lips while he served juice being totally entertained, because even though everyone at the table had known each other for a long time, sometimes Kenma's attitudes and particular personality continued to be a surprise.

“We also lost,” Kuroo added, “And in fact, our houses are the next to face each other." He said, and smiled when his gaze met Kenma's for a second.

Because no matter how close they were, or how emotionally apart they felt, they both wanted the same thing.

For their house to be the one to win.

And Kenma was the one to break the look between them when he lowered his eyes.

“Tetsurou, darling, have you found someone that interests you? I don’t doubt that being the Slytherin Quidditch Captain makes you stand out among the other guys.”

Kuroo was used to Kenma's mother taking an interest in him as another son, and considering that they only returned home for the festivities and then remained in the castle, it had already become customary to receive such questions, since also his parents had done the same when he had arrived at his house.

The Slytherin looked sideways at the one with blond hair and black roots.

"Actually, yes." He replied.

The situation was even funnier when Kenma's mother turned out to be the only one listening to him, since his parents and Kenma’s father had begun to chat with each other.

“It's good to hear that!” The adult exclaimed, “And what do you think?”

Kuroo rested his eyes on the woman, and as he was aware that she wasn’t the only one listening to him, he chose his words with caution because finally his chance to be heard by the right person had arrived to him.

“I think it's who I want to protect forever no matter what.”

Kenma's mother pinched his cheek after hearing the words of the one he considered his second child after taking care of him since he was smaller and could remember that he wasn’t taller than her, but the two stopped smiling at each other when Kenma ran his chair to disappear through the stairs with a completely serious expression on his face, and after Kenma's mother gave Kuroo a calm smile, he got up. Although once he climbed the stairs, he found the door of Kenma's room closed.

He approached his hand to the doorknob, but remained still when he realized that he would probably receive a pillow or even something harder against his face in case he opened the door, so he let out a sigh and chose to slide down until he sat with his back against the door and his arms around his knees. He didn’t hear anything from the other side, and he remained using the floor of the corridor as a fixed point.

He knew that Kenma had locked himself after hearing his words as well as because he was aware that his words had referred to him.

And Kuroo hadn’t lied. He really wanted to protect Kenma no matter what, but apparently, the only thing he achieved with both his actions and his words, was the exact opposite. For severe months he had avoided being totally honest with him because he felt that Kenma was right in acting distantly and reluctantly towards him after what he had done, but he also considered it was unfair that he couldn’t explain to him why he had done what he had done, nor could he be completely honest because every time he wanted to talk to him, Kenma would run away, and the times he stayed with him, he didn’t want to have a conversation.

However, at that moment Kuroo realized that Kenma would have to step over him in case he wanted to run away from him, unless he hated him to the point of considering jumping out the window of his room, which he didn’t discard anyway. But no matter what could happen, reality was that. Kenma was on the other side of the door, and therefore, also the opportunity to express everything he hadn’t been able to say in all those months, since he had begun to be ignored, and he still didn't understand why Kenma did it since he had believed that Kenma would understand the reasons behind his actions.

Kuroo swallowed heavily, and no matter how many times he had rehearsed that moment in his head, he felt nervous and squeezed his hands to stop shaking. He opened his mouth, and knew it was the time to declare everything he felt, all the words he hadn't been able to express during all those months.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry, Kenma, but it's not like that," He began to say, although he immediately released a long sigh, since imagining him saying it and doing it for real, were two completely different things. He felt that his own emotions would betray him at any moment, but he decided to keep talking because that was the chance he had been waiting to be honest without any obstacle. “Saying I'm sorry would imply that I'm sorry for what I did, and I don’t feel that way. Even though you have completely distanced yourself from me, even if you have gone from being with me to dodging me in every possible way, to running away from me whenever you can and to loathe and hate me as well as to get away from me. Even if you don’t want to see me and avoiding me has become your new hobby, I don’t regret it. What I did, I did it because it’s how I felt, and how I continue to feel.”

Kuroo rested his head against the door, and when he didn't hear anything coming from the other side, he continued. Still feeling nervous, still trying to control the slight tremor of his own hands. He always thought about him, he had told Bokuto that he had wanted Kenma to have been for him when his relationship with his quidditch team seemed not to improve, and he had assured Akaashi that he would always protect Kenma. He couldn't simply assure everyone how important he considered Kenma if he didn't tell him too. 

“I know you hate me and I don’t blame you for it. But I want you to know that I won’t stop looking for you just because you don’t look for me. I will continue to be happy although now our relationship is based on you approaching me from time to time. I will continue to smile although your distance hurts, because if you are well, then I'll be too. So if you want to talk to me for several days in a row or one day every two months, I will still be happy when we find each other in some corridor or our eyes meet in the Great Hall.”

He was being honest but also lying, since he preferred for Kenma to approach him to speak with him instead of just finding him in some corner of the castle. He preferred for Kenma to be there to calm him down when the problems with his quidditch team continued to increase, to let him know that he could remained his trust in him to lower his levels of uneasiness. He preferred to think of the way he would probably smile in an honest way as he walked down the aisle in case he was holding Kenma's hand, the brightness Bokuto's eyes would hold while he told him how happy he was because he had spent some time of his day with Kenma, or the way Oikawa would throw kisses in the air after he had told him that his relationship with Kenma was the same as always. But those were only his thoughts, and in reality, he chatted with Oikawa because with him it was easy to talk about his insecurities, Bokuto only gave him a sad smile or hugged him every time he told him how much he missed Kenma, with whom he didn't walk holding hands, and with whom he didn't spend most of his time even though he wanted the exact opposite. And with Kenma avoiding him in every possible way, even five minutes of talking with him seemed enough.

Kuroo stuck his knees to his chest with his hands in between, worsening the closure he felt in his chest but being unable to avoid shrinking in himself.

“I didn’t lie to your mom. The only thing I want to do is protect you, although like the big fool I am, it's obvious that I don’t know how to do it, and doing the opposite works incredibly well for me. Ironically I think I'm the person who hurts you the most. But I just want to be honest, and I am being.”

Kuroo swallowed with difficulty when he knew that what he began to feel in his throat was a lump, and he closed his eyes to prevent them from crystallizing and his vision becoming cloudy. He felt that every word he expressed was equal to a blow to himself, but he couldn’t miss the opportunity to be honest, so he took a deep breath, and finally enunciated the words he thought he should have said a long time ago.

“The only truth is that I love you, and unfortunately, it seems that my only way to prove it is by hurting you.”

He wasn't able to continue holding his own self, and he buried his head between his legs, with his heart finally breaking when he heard a small cry coming from the other side of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ennoshita and Yahaba have a different war.


	46. Chapter 46

Ennoshita rubbed his eyes and suddenly hid his face behind his arms, expecting to receive a pillow or even a book against his face, and fot the same reason he remained completely confused when nothing hit him since he had gotten used to Yahaba awakening him like that,. And he understood that that morning turned out to be the first time that nothing was thrown at his face because Yahaba wasn’t lying on the bed next to his.

He rested his forearms on the mattress and stretched his neck to check that Yahaba wasn’t really in his bed or sleeping on the other side by chance. He sat up, and took the opportunity to stretch his muscles and let out a prolonged yawn. His sight rested on a blue hoodie that remained at the edge of his bed, and he remembered that the previous night he had celebrated Christmas with the one who at that moment was absent, and that this had been his gift. Which fortunately he hadn’t only liked for the color, but for how warm it was.

He remembered that he had also given Yahaba a gift, and he dropped himself back into the mattress, taking advantage of the fact that that morning he wouldn’t be thrown away thanks to the Slytherin’s pranks. He could easily say that morning was the first in which he felt he had rested, since since he had arrived at Yahaba’s house, he had made his life impossible as well as he to him.

While Ennoshita had had the trip on the express to get an idea of what it would be like to be in Yahaba's house for two weeks and a few days, all his thoughts left his head when he suddenly found himself facing a huge black mansion that was far away from the rest of the houses, surrounded by large green spaces that were under a thick layer of snow at that time of the year. He remembered that Yahaba had mentioned that they would probably see little of his parents because they had to continue working after belonging to a large company that was related to magic’s safety, but he hadn’t expected that the true meaning of those words meant that basically they would have all the spaces of the mansion for them alone. Ennoshita had understood why Yahaba had invited him after Futakuchi had rejected the invitation, since if he had been in his place, the Ravenclaw would also have invited someone to spend the winter break, because the very idea of imagine himself alone in that mansion for two weeks made his head shook.

Yahaba had told him that they had people who took care of the mansion when his parents worked and he was at Hogwarts, but that at that time they weren’t available because they also had their own vacations, so most of the time it had only been them both and the freedom to be able to walk around the mansion without any obstacle. Yahaba's parents were so busy with their work, that Ennoshita had only met them the night before during the Christmas dinner, a week after he had arrived at the mansion.

Ennoshita was pleased to discover that Yahaba wasn’t the kind of person who didn’t hesitate to demonstrate the luxuries of his life, nor the kind of person who thought was superior to others just because he possessed a great material fortune. He also discovered that he got up early to at least see his parents when they left for work, which explained why he was later woke up by a Yahaba who was already fully awake and anxious to annoy him. And the Ravenclaw had been right in thinking that he could use those weeks to annoy Yahaba since he had stopped bothering him to use in his advantage the problems the Slytherin team was facing, to annoy him because he loved doing so, and he didn’t need to find any reasonable explanation that made sense. But just as Ennoshita found it amusing to disturb him, Yahaba was very easily entertained when the time of annoying him came, allowing the back and forth of bothering each other to become a real war.

The first days Ennoshita felt somewhat uncomfortable and out of place, because although Yahaba assured him that he could move freely throughout the house because unlike what he appeared to be, his family didn’t hide a great secret nor had a forbidden room to which he couldn’t enter because he wasn’t part of the family, Ennoshita continued to feel somewhat overwhelmed after realizing that he had actually agreed to stay there instead of with his stepbrother. And although at first he thought he might have to act differently than he was used to, once he noticed Yahaba's parents really didn’t seem to be ever, he began to become familiar with the idea of feeling completely welcome in the mansion. The adults left them notes with short phrases in which they expressed them to have a great day and that they were free to eat the sweets and all kinds of food that they had bought, so even though he didn’t know them, Ennoshita had begun to feel he was welcomed by the whole family.

They had armed a bed especially for him, which although it had been placed on the other side of Yahaba's room, ended up being next to the owner of the room when the first night was characterized by a storm similar to the one they had witnessed when the plan to spend the winter recess had emerged. Ennoshita preferred to lose his pride rather than continue to stay awake, and ran the bed to leave it next to Yahaba’s, who didn’t bother him or make fun of him for doing it so. He annoyed him with everything else, but not with his disgust towards rainy nights.

The next morning they didn’t feel like moving it, so they agreed that both beds should stay one next to the other, that being the perfect excuse for the beginning of the morning wars that began to break out between them as soon as they realized they could get up each other by throwing pillows in their faces, or suddenly uncovering themselves and therefore being awakened by the winter weather. Throwing themselves books, and even after realizing that Yahaba's parents were leaving early in the morning and therefore both weren’t present when they woke up, Ennoshita had taken the opportunity to use his wand as a microphone to in that way raise the one next to him whose face he would never forget once his voice resounded throughout the house after making his tone increase after bewitching himself. However, he suffered the consequences when Yahaba raised him after not wanting to be the only one awake after his parents left. He could assure that he had gone from being in his bed to being lying on the floor not because he moved while he slept, but because Yahaba pushed him on purpose.

And the morning wars were just one of the many they held until they went back to bed. They had found the fun to annoyed each other all the time, whether it was Yahaba mocking Ennoshita because he found himself lost in the halls of the mansion, although by that time he knew where the essential places were located, telling him that the bathroom was in such a place and then sent him to the kitchen, assuring him that the carnivorous plant they had wouldn’t do anything to him and to have won two fingers full of band-aids for having believed him, or to tell him that the cold water came out of such a tap to finish feeling that he was running out of skin under hot water. Or Ennoshita nagging Yahaba after asking him where were the things he needed more than thousands of times no matter how well he knew where they were, repeating several times a day that his room was a complete mess even if there wasn’t a single thing out of place, telling him he didn’t understand how he knew where he was inside his own house when his brain didn’t seem complex enough, assuring him that the containers where they kept the sugar and salt weren’t different enough even if one was white and another black, and therefore it wasn’t his fault that his coffee had been very salty and his fries very sweet, or expressing that he hadn’t given him enough pillows and blankets and therefore had the right to take his away although Yahaba's parents had taken care to leave a pile and assure him that he could use as many as he wanted.

And at night they could hardly sleep. When one was about to achieve it, the other spoke intentionally so as not to be the only one to stay awake, they took off their pillows, which usually ended in a pillow fight and one of them on the floor, or even both, and they kicked each other even though each one had enough space in their own bed.

No matter what time it was, they annoyed each other without even hesitating, just as they had always done each time they met or crossed in the castle, and the same reason had made Ennoshita able to cope with more confidence as the days advanced.

On the only occasion that both agreed to pretend to be neutral, was during the dinner the night before where Ennoshita was finally able to meet Yahaba's parents personally, and not only because sometimes they heard them say goodbye to their son or arrive late at night. The two had turned out to be extremely charming and nice people despite having a completely serious image and wearing formal clothes. He had spent a great deal of time and thanked them for the gift they had given him, although he didn’t hesitate to bother Yahaba when once again they were alone, telling him that unlike his parents, he had inherited nothing of the charm that characterized them. That being the reason why Yahaba barely let him sleep, and therefore making that during that morning, Ennoshita wondered where he was when the previous night he had promised to annoy him the triple because they were already on their second and last week of vacation.

Ennoshita got up again when he heard some noise coming from outside the room, and between half yawns and stretching the muscles of his body, he went to the kitchen because he had already learned to distinguish where the various noises in the mansion came from. “Have you agreed to declare a truce because your brain has already shorted after being so many days away from the librar—” He couldn’t finish the sentence he had planned to express, after remaining speechless when he realized the real disaster that made the kitchen seem like everything, except a place to cook.

There were too many dirty utensils to even try to count them, stains of a mass that seemed to have a life of its own were scattered all over the place, from the floor to the top of the refrigerator, while the oven seemed to have suffered some kind of inconvenience. And Ennoshita could swear that he had just seen something falling from the ceiling Even though, the image that captured his attention turned out to be a Yahaba holding an innocent smile, with a spoon full of something dark brown while with his other arm carried a pot that strangely turned out to be empty.

Ennoshita rubbed his finger against one of the black stools that was in front of the countertop in the center of the kitchen after verifying that his pajamas pants wouldn’t be stained with anything of doubtful origin, nor would his hair suddenly turn dark because something would fall from the ceiling right to his head, and finally took place there to wacth Yahaba completely confused, whose one of his cheeks he noticed had a stain that he seemed unable to remove no matter how hard he tried, so he couldn’t help but giggle.

"Keep laughing and I'll kick you out of my house." Yahaba pointed him with the spoon, making some of the content he held fell on the table, and the black-haired one was forced to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing.

“What the hell were you trying to do?” Ennoshita finally asked.

He guessed that a failed attempt to make something edible that somehow included chocolate, was the way in which the scene around him could be summed up.

Yahaba left the empty pot on the counter and looked at the spoon with a raised eyebrow.

"You said chocolate is your favorite flavor, so I was trying to make a cake."

“Why?”

“Well, it's your birthday today, isn’t it?”

Ennoshita remained stunned after realizing he was right.

He had never claimed to his parents the fact that they travelled during the holidays and his birthday, since he considered that his parents had always been found for him, and that a break for them ended up being beneficial for the three of them because they continued to be characterized for their good humor and sympathy, for which he had never reproached them for the fact that during the date of his birthday, he always received letters from them instead of affection in person. Nor that they left him in the house of his older stepbrother, who along with his family always tried to make him spend the best birthday together with them. But although Ennoshita felt that he couldn’t complain, he had never been a big fan of his birthdays since having borned the day after Christmas meant that his friends always used to be with their respective families and their parents were never present, so he tried to make it happen like another day, like any normal day. So he had only mentioned it lightly to Yahaba when he commented that unlike the others, he used to receive double gifts or sometimes one depending on the jokes that his older stepbrother wanted to make.

But apparently his comment hadn’t been taken with the same lightness with which he had expressed it. He hadn’t even expected Yahaba to remember, let alone get up to find him trying to make him a birthday cake.

“It is, but…”

“No buts. My parents would kill me if they knew I didn’t try to do something for you," Yahaba crossed his arms, staining himself for still holding the spoon with something that was apparently chocolate, or at least a kind of.

Ennoshita laughed, thinking that only Yahaba was able to make the kitchen look like the scene of a crime where a chocolate person had been killed. “Have you always been an obedient child?” He asked smiling amusedly.

"I don’t know, but..." The black-haired one's jaw dropped when suddenly Yahaba pointed with the spoon at him, rather moved it quickly towards to him, so that he could also stain him. “I guess if I was, I wouldn’t have done that." He finished with a daring smirk.

"You didn’t."

“Oh, of course I did.”

"It's my birthday." Ennoshita said only to defend himself.

“Then happy birthday for you.”

Yahaba moved the spoon between them again, splashing what was left of chocolate so that both of them would be stained in the same way.

The two looked at each other with different types of smiles on their faces, and soon, what began as a not-so-pleasant surprise as a birthday gift, turned into a real war of chocolate. Yahaba left Ennoshita when he got up to quickly address all the pots that contained the failed attempt of chocolate that the other had tried to do, and didn’t hesitate to start throwing it as the other wasted no time and defended himself by throwing more chocolate liquid after pointing the spoon in his direction repeatedly after refilling it with all that had been left in the containers near the refrigerator. He had practically used all the pots that his mother had bought after not having managed to make a decent cake, although he had managed to get them to be the sources from which both of them had stocked themselves to throw away the remains of food and candy to their faces, their hair, and their clothes. The two ended up sitting on the floor after Ennoshita had tripped after slipping with chocolate and had taken advantage of dragging Yahaba with him after they had run out of what could continue with the round trip of food, since they had thrown it and now it was on them.

“You look like Bokuto,” Ennoshita expressed between laughs when, thanks to the chocolate on his hair, Yahaba ended up having both silver and brown locks, seeming that he now had hair of two opposite colors.

Yahaba bit his lower lip at the same time he smiled. "My parents will kill me," He added once he realized the real disaster they had done with the kitchen, if that place in the mansion could continue to be considered as such.

“I'm glad, they will save me the effort of doing it myself.”

Yahaba stuck out his tongue while Ennoshita laughed after resting his gaze on the stain that covered a large part of one of his cheeks. He slipped his finger into one of his own and then licked it.

"In fact it’s not that bad," He added smiling.

"You're welcome," Yahaba sarcastically made a slight bow with his head and arms.

"You know, you're the most unbearable person I know, but this has definitely been the best birthday I've ever had." Ennoshita said, unable to help laughing.

"And it's just the beginning," Yahaba assured him with a daring smile, which didn’t disappear when his gaze rested on his arms and he realized that the bandage covering his wound had been stained with chocolate. “Shit, I'll have to change it," He laughed at the fact that he would have to change it just because he had participated in a chocolate war.

“Does it hurt?” Ennoshita asked having taken one of the pots to begin to pass his finger and therefore taste the chocolate that remained in it. “You know you could have used your wand, right?”

“I wouldn’t have tried to make you a cake in case it was a burden,” He replied, making the front of him smile proudly, “According to mom, using the wand makes it lose the flavor," He added explaining why he hadn’t used his wand to take care of the matter instead of allowing his kitchen to become a chaotic place.

"You make the taste disappear because you can’t cook."

Yahaba didn’t hesitate to remove the pot and make a new war begin between them when he used the chocolate to throw it in his face and keep him from eating it. He kept thinking that he had made the right choice when he invited Ennoshita, since annoying him all the time as well as having someone to be with while his parents were away, turned out to be the best plan. Sometimes he couldn’t stop thinking about how much he would have liked for Futakuchi to be with him, but he couldn’t deny that Ennoshita made him have fun as he didn’t with anyone else since they bothered each other without problem and didn’t doubt in carrying out different jokes and pranks. His mind had remained distracted, and since he had arrived at his home, he knew that Ennoshita’s presence or being with his parents weren’t the only things that had made him feel more relaxed, since he knew very well why the tension he felt when he was at Hogwarts, was no longer on his shoulders.

All his pranks against Ennoshita and those he had received in turn had made him realize that he could have fun easily, and even when he had previously been with Atsumu in the infirmary, it had become clear to him that he still had friends who were there to help him or be a shoulder on where to cry, so he had decided that although his plan to start the school year differently had been a failure since his tears in the infirmary had demonstrated the same, then he would take advantage of the winter break to prepare himself and finally choose to give his own self a fresh start once the classes were resumed. He had taken those days as a distraction, to free himself from all his frustrations. Because he had decided that if he had been able to transform his cross of sarcastic comments with Ennoshita into an invitation to be together during the winter break, then he would also be able to once and for all, leave Kyoutani in the past. 

* * *

 

Kageyama and Ennoshita turned out not to be the only ones to celebrate during the festivities, since Daichi was on that list as well, although unlike the two of them, he hadn't receive unexpected surprises. He had taken advantage of the winter break to spend those days with his family and to receive other relatives who had presented themselves so that they could take advantage of the free time between them. He also opted to join Asahi who lived near him, and although after being with his family on Christmas Eve he had opted to be with him, for New Year's night he had different plans, not only because that date excited him more than Christmas, but because it also turned out to be his birthday.

And after being with his family, he found himself walking down the street, extremely nervous because he was about to be with a gray-haired boy who waved his hand when he saw him in the distance. Daichi smiled sideways when he saw Suga waiting for him, and he asked himself how he had been able to pass by not being able to talk to him, to arrange to join him at the beginning of his birthday.

“Happy Birthday!” The smile on his face increased when Suga flung himself into his arms along with a big smile, “And of course, happy New Year too!" He added as he pulled away from him and let out a giggle.

Hardly an hour had passed since the New Year had arrived, and the fireworks that continued to decorate the sky above them described perfectly how Daichi felt at that moment. He was grateful to have been able to overcome the cowardice that was pouncing on him every time he saw some of his friends talking to Suga, or even the gray-haired one finding himself alone. He was happy that he had managed to speak to him and that he had managed to start being part of his life as well as that Suga seemed happy after realizing that all the times that Daichi had left because he didn’t want to be with him, he had tried exactly the opposite. The Gryffindor had finally chosen to pay attention to his heart and not his brain, and therefore, allow the emotions that were presented to him when he was with the gray-haired one, to beat that voice in his head that repeated to him that he was a fearful boy who couldn’t approach him to speak to him. He was sorry for having wasted so much time eating himself, because in addition, Suga seemed more than happy with the friendship they had managed to build between the two of them.

Although Daichi knew that wasn’t the only thing he wanted.

And at that moment he realized that Suga didn’t plan that the relationship between them would remain the same either.

“Daichi.”

“Mmhm?”

He remained confused and entertained when he thought he saw a faint blush on the cheeks of the one facing him.

"I think I have a gift for you," Suga said, smiling awkwardly.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to give me anything.”

“I know, but...” The gray-haired one coughed to give himself courage and thus avoid that his voice continued to become a whisper, “I want to, I just need you to close your eyes.” Daichi looked at him confused, but raised his hands innocently when Suga looked at him with a determined smile on his face, and closed his eyes. "You just have to promise me that if you don’t like it, you'll tell me." Daichi heard.

"If this is your plan to leave while I stay here with my eyes closed, I assure you that I will chase you down the street so you can hear that I didn’t like it." Daichi expressed, and smiled broadly when he heard a cheerful chuckle.

"I promise I won’t leave you alone." Suga assured him with laughter.

“Then I promise that if I don’t like it, I'll tell you.”

Daichi remained with his eyes closed and a disguised smile on his face, and he heard that the one who was still with him and who apparently didn’t plan to leave him alone, let out a sigh. He felt a warm sensation run through his body when he felt Suga's hands covered by gloves perch on the nape of his neck. The nerves that he had managed to oppress so far and that appeared every time he was with him, marked its presence after his heart began to alter and feel a tingling sensation coming from the area where Suga had rested his hands. And all his nervousness transformed into exaltation when he felt warm lips rest on his for a few seconds.

His whole body became impossible to handle because of all the emotions that rushed at him, and he felt a warm tightness in his chest when once he opened his eyes after having stopped feeling his hands on the back of his neck, he sighted Suga watching the floor with his cheeks under an intense red color.

“Do you remember the promise?” He asked him.

Suga wouldn’t have expressed that question if he had found himself spotting the black-haired one with a huge smile on his face instead of the frozen asphalt under his feet, so he was surprised when he felt fingers settle on his chin to force him to look at him.

"I promised that if I didn’t like it, I would tell you," Daichi said, “But I did like it, so instead of telling you I have to prove it.”

Daichi rested his lips on those that at that moment formed a shy smile. His nape was comforted again by the warm feeling that Suga's hands provoked, just as his lips enjoyed meeting those that he had hoped to kiss longer than he could imagine. He hadn’t thought that both his new year and his birthday would begin that way, with his feelings being externalized and reciprocated in the best possible way, the way he had always wanted. But he chose not to complain, and instead, to celebrate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Someone does his comeback.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Today is J.K. Rowling's and Harry Potter's birthday❤✨
> 
> 2\. Have you seen Haikyuu's new official art? Amazing. And all the fanarts about it? There's so much talent.
> 
> 3\. In the stories I read authors tend to warn when something like this happens in a chapter, so I warn it just in case. There's a panic attack in this chapter. 
> 
> P.S.: I know students can't use magic outside of Hogwarts, but meh

The meetings under the snow and the free time ended once the students again found themselves on the express to return to Hogwarts and thus start a new period of classes they had ahead. The teenagers again left their homes and their families to come back to the place they could already consider their second home, and in some cases, even the first one. Again the express was full of students who had been able to rest and take advantage of the time away from books and papers to be delivered, and from the classes and professors who crowded their time with different essays. Their energies were renewed and they were ready to spend another semester.

And for some, the New Year implied new attitudes.

Yaku watched both sides of the aisle after opening the door of the compartment.

“Did you get yourself with the wrong people during the break?” Daichi asked, who was sitting on the inside, and had noticed his housemate’s strange behaviour since they had even met on the platform.

"You're paranoid since we got on the express, Yaku." Suga added with his arm around the Gryffindor’s shoulders.

The aforementioned turned to observe them with narrowed eyes.

"Apparently you have a lot to explain to me."

Those who hadn’t separated since they had seen each other on the platform, smiled at each other and didn’t hesitate to laugh at the same time when they heard the other speak. Yaku was happy to see his best friend completely lost by the gray-haired boy who stood by his side and who had agreed to be in the compartment with them, as well as he was happy for Suga, who seemed to be even more relaxed than usual when he was next to the Gryffindor.

“You too. Who are you hiding from?” Suga asked completely amused.

Yaku looked down to avoid Daichi's unimpressed look at him.

“I…” Yaku started coughing purposely after closing the door of the compartment, since he believed that leaving it open was a bad idea when what he wanted was to hide and not be seen, which explained why he hadn’t hesitated to get into the compartment that in fact was only for prefects. “It could be that I... mhm...Yes, well... I...”

"Spill it." His housemate asked.

"I kissed Lev." He said quickly before dropping into the seat in front of them.

He covered his face with both hands to avoid feeling the look of his friends on him, who at that moment looked at each other impressed before resting their eyes on him and smiling in the same way. Daichi smiled because apparently he wasn’t the only one who had finally managed to express his feelings, and Suga because although he didn’t know the whole story between him and Lev, he knew his friend enough to know that Yaku was totally ashamed, but not regretful.

“And you are hiding from him?” He asked.

“Why?” Daichi added.

Yaku swallowed before opting to stop hiding behind his own hands.

“Well, technically he kissed me first. But I kissed him a second time," He explained, “And... I don’t know if..." He opened his mouth several times without appearing to find the right words, and then let out a sigh before dropping his arms to his sides, frustrated. “I don’t know if it's okay that I did it.”

“Why not? You like him." Daichi reminded him.

“I know but... I don’t know.”

His roommate was right and Lev continued to attract him, but after having severe days to think about what he had done and the way he had felt after his lips met Lev’s, the cowardice had again made him his prey and thus make him forget all the courage he had gathered to show the fifth-year that he was comfortable with him. The idea of enjoying his time with Lev only reminded him that he wouldn’t have much more to do it, since in a few months he would graduate and the other would continue at Hogwarts for two more years.

Daichi seemed to recognize what was going through his head.

"Don’t waste time hiding from him."

Yaku looked up at him.

Time.

He hated it.

He didn’t understand why it had to pass quickly, nor slow down. When he was having a good time, the minutes passed quickly, while when he was studying, the hours didn’t seem to advance any more. When he felt he needed more time to finish an exam, the professor told them that it was almost over. And when he was with lev, he felt both. That time wasn’t enough, but that the needles also kept moving. Time was advancing and he knew it, as well as he knew that he couldn’t do anything to stop it and that a Time-Turner wasn’t the solution to his problems because life would continue advancing whether he wanted to or not. It was something he couldn't change, and he still didn't know if he wanted to run a personal race against time or not.

And while he was certainly wasting his time after hiding from the one who was surprised at not having crossed paths with him even though they were on the same express; unlike him, other people sought to do the opposite. Everyone was used to seeing each other at Hogwarts, so spending their holidays each by their side made it somehow strange to sleep in their own beds and only eat with their families instead of being surrounded with other tables. Unlike Yaku, there were other people in the express who knew exactly how to spend their time because they didn’t fear if it happened slowly or quickly, since what they least cared about was how it happened while they could be together.

People like Yaku had chosen to hide, others chat on the express with their friends to tell themselves what they had done, as well as others chose to use the trip from the platform to the castle to recover the time they had spent each by their side, feeling as if they had to show the love they felt for each other and all the feelings involved between them before the express arrived at its destination.

Both Bokuto and Akaashi didn’t doubt to take advantage of the fact that the express wasn’t completely full, and therefore some wagons remained completely empty because not all students were present, to lock themselves in one of them so that there was no chance of someone interrupting or disturbing them, because although previously Akaashi had told Bokuto that there were many parts of the castle where they could meet to not necessarily chat, Bokuto had decided that if Akaashi didn’t like public affection, then he would look for all possible ways so that they could continue to find themselves the way they wanted.

The majority in the express was with some coat over and the windows of the same continued frozen because the weather hadn’t seemed to improve since they had been there two weeks ago, but unlike the others, and although they were totally alone, Bokuto and Akaashi felt as if the winter weather had been set aside when the only thing they could focus on was the warm they gave each other. Not only by keeping their lips together, but also with their bodies totally close.

Akaashi knew that he was considered an educated and correct person, that he always maintained his composure and that he had been raised with the corresponding manners, and if weeks ago someone had told him that at that time he would find himself forming that scene he wouldn’t have hesitated to immediately deny, but reality was that what least mattered to him was knowing that what he was doing was probably wrong, when all he could think about was how good Bokuto's hands felt on his lower back as well as his lips on his. He couldn't concentrate on anything else when Bokuto’s body with his reminded him that when he was with him, what he least could do was think.

Their mouths had joined as soon as they had closed the door behind them, and it became clear to the both of them that they had missed each other during the winter break in the same way, when they had only needed a few minutes for Akaashi to sit in one of the tables and Bokuto stood beside him, with Akaashi's legs around his waist as well as with his hands on his neck, while his were on the lower back of the Ravenclaw that, like him, only looked for the distance between to continued to shorten. Bokuto didn’t want to stop tasting his lips just as Akaashi didn’t want to allow them to separate again when they had had plenty of days to do so.

Although they had used the recess to rest from classes and homework, they had also counted the days to see each other again, to meet again that way. Bokuto lowered his hands to Akaashi's waist to rest his hands there, making his interior continued to rejoice when with that action he managed to stop Akaashi from keeping his hands on his neck to rest them on his arms, to hold on to his muscles because that was his way of letting him know that he was comfortable with his decisions, that that was the right way to let him know what he liked and what he didn't. Their chests were brushing and their shirts were already completely wrinkled. Their hips were totally close, and Bokuto knew that if he didn't want the reduced space in his pants to become a bigger problem sinceafter all, they were still in one of the wagons of the express, he should stop looking to form that contact with Akaashi, he had to stop the kiss between them as well as remove his hands from his body, but his rational part had begun to descend with every minute that had elapsed.

But fortunately for him, although Akaashi seemed to be equally desperate for him for not wanting the closeness between the two to come to an end, he continued to keep in mind the fact that he could no longer see one of the teachers in the face because Coach Ukai  had seen them kissing in the middle of the hall, and he didn’t want to continue adding people to the list of people who he could never see in the face again, so even though he only wanted to do the opposite, at that time he separated from Bokuto for a few millimeters.

He breathed through his mouth to try to stabilize his breathing, but only managed to keep his chest going up and down with the same intensity when Bokuto took advantage that their mouths were no longer together, to hide his face between his neck and his shoulder. He bit his lower lip smiling, and raised his hands back to Bokuto's neck to correspond to his hug once Bokuto wrapped his waist with his arms.

The rose of Bokuto's lips with the skin of his neck tickled him, and they both giggled for the same. Bokuto kissed him on that part of his body, and then he finally separated a little more from Akaashi to touch the tip of his nose with his.

"I missed you," Bokuto said on his lips, as if his actions until that moment hadn’t been sufficient proof that he hadn’t liked the fact of not being able to see Akaashi, looking at him at the Great Hall, giving him a smile when they crossed in some hall, or surrounding him with his arms and kissing him when they were alone.

Akaashi bit his lower lip while raising one of his hands to brush Bokuto's lips with the tips of his fingers, although then a smile appeared on his face when Bokuto kissed that part of his hand. Akaashi made him a small caress on his cheek, and finally their eyes met again when they both decided to stop looking at their mouths to allow gold and blue to cross.

"It rained the first night," Akaashi said, his voice low and calm even though there was no one besides them.

"I wanted to send you my owl," Bokuto expressed, since as soon as he had heard the first drops of that storm as well as seen the same trace different paths in the window of his room, the only thing he had thought was how he would have liked being with Akaashi since he knew he wasn't a fan of rain or storms.

"Surely it would have bitten you in case you tried," Akaashi said, and they both laughed when they imagined Bokuto’s owl biting him after pretending it to fly on a stormy night. “But I was with one of your owls anyway,” He added, and he continued speaking when Bokuto watched him with a confused smile on his face. “The owl plushie you gave me.”

It was true that it was small and that he had chosen to leave it on his bedside table because he hadn’t wanted to leave it at Hogwarts, although at that time the object was again in his suitcase because he hadn’t wanted to leave it at his house. He wanted it to be where he was, since in some way it reminded him of Bokuto, and for the same reason, during the night of the storm he had felt calmer after making it seem to come alive since after pointing it with his wand, the owl plushie began to fly over him, making him forget about the noise of thunder and rain.

"You won't replace me, right?" Bokuto asked him, happy that his gift had served to keep Akaashi distracted from the storm, although a smile didn't decorate his face to show the same, which made Akaashi watch him carefully for a second.

"I don't know," Akashi replied, pretending not to find the right answer, wondering if there had been second intentions behind the question asked. "I can't kiss a stuffed animal."

"Technically you can."

Akaashi continued to watch him. Bokuto had already recovered his smile, but he was sure that it was no coincidence that he had lost the same gesture at the same time that he had asked that question, but instead of allowing the doubt to be evident on his face, he acted as usual.

"So you want me to replace you?"

“No!”

Akaashi covered his mouth with both hands after laughing for his denial, and Bokuto looked at him smiling until the Ravenclaw again rested his hands on his cheeks while Bokuto caressed his waist.

"I learned something during the break." Bokuto added.

Akaashi lowered his hands to Bokuto’s chest. “What did you learn?” He asked him.

Bokuto winked at him before finally stop hugging him to get his wand out, and Akaashi looked up when he did. Bokuto made a slight movement with his wand, and a small and friendly floating clover showed up. Completely excited and as if he had performed the most difficult spell and would have waited until then to teach and demonstrate what he could do, Bokuto lowered his eyes to the one he expected to find smiling the same way he did, but who in turn he found continuing to observe the small plant with evident confusion on his face.

“Akaashi!” He complained when he didn’t notice the Ravenclaw as excited as he felt. “Don’t you love me like I love you?”

"I don’t quite understand." The younger confessed, still with his eyes on the clover.

“It's mistletoe! We have to kiss!”

Although Bokuto didn’t understand why his companion didn’t seem to feel for him what he felt, he smiled when Akaashi tried not to let out a small giggle as soon as he heard him.

“That's not mistletoe, it's a clover.”

The smile on the seventh-year's face was replaced by a grimace, and he began to complain loudly like a snotty boy who had failed to show how great he was, while Akaashi remained calm and never took his eyes off the clover that at that moment managed to make him smile a little more when it changed its shape.

"That is mistletoe." Akaashi added.

Bokuto stopped forming a pout with his lips when he heard him, and when he looked up, he saw how the clover had lost three leaves to become a small branch of green leaves and white waxy berries.

“I told you I learned something!” He exclaimed excitedly.

"You didn’t learn it, the mistletoe appears magically and by itself to a couple that is really attracted or in love with each other." Akaashi commented, who had paid attention in class, but he pressed his lips as soon as he realized the meaning of the words he had just said out loud. And he felt an intense heat in his cheeks when he caught a glimpse of Bokuto smiling as he had never done before, and with a notorious brightness in his amber gaze.

He forgot about the fact of having learned nothing when he heard Akaashi, and holding a very honest and completely pleasant smile, he embraced the one with black hair that prevented his smile from being as big as the one who began to leave kisses on his face being completely amused, until Akaashi held his face after resting his hands on his cheeks to watch him.

“Once we arrive at the castle we have to look for Coach Ukai so he tells us the detention we have to comply.” He expressed looking at him fixedly, and Bokuto allowed his strands to tickle him when with a complaint he dropped his head on his shoulder and part of his neck.

“Why you ruin the moment with something I already did?” He expressed complaining.

“With something that you already did?” Akaashi asked him confused.

Bokuto growled slightly before returning to look at him.

“It was my fault he discovered us kissing us so—”

“But I kissed you first.”

“Well, yes, but I didn’t stop us. You are a very smart person and I know that if you were upset because I threw your books, then you would be upset for having earned a detention with me, so once you left, I followed Coach to ask him to just leave the detention to me because I’m already used to having them, I mean, even in the first week of my first year I had one," He explained to him, without being able to avoid holding a little smile, “So I convinced him and I cleaned one of the rooms where the brooms are kept, you can tell you've never had detention, Akaashi, they give them as soon as they tell you, they don’t that take long to give them to you.”

Akaashi watched him in complete silence since he was too impressed to speak. Apparently his tone of voice and his bluish look seemed threatening enough when he needed it because Bokuto hadn’t hesitated to accept the detention on his own while reality was that he had kissed him first, no matter that the other hadn’t stopped him. It was his fault that they had started kissing and therefore someone discovered them, so he didn’t think it was fair that Bokuto had received the detention alone, although on the other hand he was glad that his name remained intact of detentions.

“But why did you do it?” Akaashi asked him, lowering his hands until he joined Bokuto's.

“Well, I love you, right? You always do things like that for the one you love.”

Bokuto removed his eyes from their hands to pose them in his impressed blue eyes.

Akaashi didn’t expect those words to be the reason he had agreed to have the detention alone as well as to blame himself for the scene they had developed in the hallway without being cautious, and he didn’t hesitate to take advantage of their hands being together to pull Bokuto closer to him and make their mouths be together again, not realizing that Bokuto had frowned slightly. 

* * *

For others, the New Year implied retaking old habits.

The three sixth-years who had spent the winter break apart of each other, had missed sharing their nights with each other after being used to sleeping in the same room, so after having settled after returning to the castle, they didn’t doubt to add another night of sleepovers to their lists when the three of them found themselves lying on Ennoshita's bed, who had told them about the strange but entertaining days he had spent together with Yahaba, and who although his birthday had already passed, received gifts from his roommates, who continued to hear and be happy that he would have had a good birthday and a fun vacation, knowing that all the previous times he had had to stay with his older stepbrother. Akaashi told them about the embarrassment that his uncle had caused him during the Christmas dinner after drinking more whiskey than expected, and although at first he doubted it, he also told them the reason why he hadn’t been with them during the returning trip on the express, only to get Ennoshita to throw little kisses in the air and to wish for their room to fill with mistletoe to get Bokuto out of control and believe he wasn’t the only one who got Akaashi's heart to accelerate.

However, not all was laughter, as the two black-haired ones had noticed that the third in the room seemed to be quieter than normal and even somewhat down, because although Kenma didn’t use to speak easily, he had barely spoken since they had met on the platform and hadn’t told them anything about what he had done during the winter break. Akaashi and Ennoshita were worried since they didn’t doubt that something had happened to him, but they didn’t want to press him because they knew they wouldn’t achieved anything, so when Akaashi finished talking about the embarrassing Christmas dinners that accompanied his family since unmemorable times, they remained silent, until suddenly Ennoshita disarmed the human pile in which they had been transformed when he sat up.

"I'll go find apple pie and ice cream," He decided to express. He knew he wouldn’t fix everything with food, but apple pie was Kenma's favorite and ice cream one of his and Akaashi's guilty pleasures, and it always served to make people relax and it was clear that one of his roommates needed something that would make him stop being totally stiff. Since in addition, he also knew that there was always too much ice cream when they went back from the winter break, since that was always available to those who stayed in the castle during the short holidays. And he knew that he made the right decision when for a second, Kenma seemed to stop being totally down, and he left him in Akaashi’s charge after leaving his room.

But his mission was completely interrupted when he didn’t expect to collide with Tanaka as soon as he left the common room of his house. He hadn’t seen him at the express and they hadn’t seen each other since before the winter break when they had talk at the express.

"Hanging around at night?” Ennoshita asked him.

"I could ask you the same question," Tanaka said, smiling sideways, as they both found themselves in the corridor closest to the Ravenclaw Tower, “How have your holidays been?” He asked him.

"Good," The Ravenclaw replied, unable to keep from giggling. He had had moments that were funny enough that he couldn’t stay serious. “How were yours?”

“Good,” Tanaka replied, and although he wasn’t very happy, he smiled when he heard him laugh, even though he was serious again when he noticed something different in him, “New?” He asked, pointing to the hoodie he was wearing.

Ennoshita remembered that he was wearing the sweater Yahaba had given him only when he pointed it out, since he had put it on to show to his roommates and forgot to take it off. "Yes, Yahaba gave it to me."

"So... you... like... you enjoyed being with him."

"Yes, I mean, we had a snow war because he has a huge garden," Ennoshita replied along with a laugh, remembering the way he had made Yahaba fall on the snow as well as when he had received a snowball on his face, “And we also had a chocolate war because he tried to make me a cake but he’s a mess cooking so there was chocolate everywhere,” He added, unable to avoid laughing. “It was fun. For the first time I spent my birthday differently, I mean, I love my stepbrother, but it was different. I liked it.”

The Gryffindor wanted his smile to be sincere because he was glad that Ennoshita seemed to have had fun and because he had spent his birthday in another way, but he could only hold the same forced smile as when that one in front of him had told him that he would pass the free period in Yahaba’s house. Ennoshita opened his mouth to ask if he had received any Christmas gifts, but remained completely stupefied when suddenly Yamamoto and Nishinoya appeared next to them.

“Ennoshita! You can help us!” Yamamoto exclaimed, taking him by the shoulders.

“Help with...”

A bad feeling grew inside him even before the other spoke.

“Is Kiyoko-san in your house’s common room?” He asked.

And with those words, the atmosphere of tranquility that had surrounded him until that moment, collapsed in a matter of seconds.

“Why you ask?” He expressed being serious.

All the fun he had accumulated along with the Slytherin, all the joy it brought him to see his roommates again even though one of them didn’t seem to have had a good winter break, and all the calm he had felt when speaking with Tanaka, were eliminated to be replaced by a feeling of resentment that in reality, had never left him.

“It's her birthday, we were looking for her.”

The serious expression on Ennoshita's face continued to accentuate.

He wondered how he had been able to believe that maybe he had collided with Tanaka because he was looking for him to talk as they hadn’t for several days, when reality had always been in front of him. No matter how much he wanted it not to be that way, the Gryffindor didn’t feel the same way as he. And even, he felt the same way for someone else.

Gently, he removed Yamamoto's hands from his shoulders.

“She’s not in the common room. I guess she's at the Great Hall, or sleeping." He answered. Nishinoya and Yamamoto ran out to the appointed place before he could foresee it. “Good luck finding her." He added when he passed by Tanaka's side.

He didn’t see the point in continuing to chat with him when the Gryffindor’s interest was placed on another person and not on him. For Ennoshita, who believed that competing with his own self was healthy because he always sought to improve, his feelings for Tanaka represented the only thing for which he wasn’t willing to compete. Thinking wasn’t the same as feeling, and therefore, he didn’t feel able to place his emotions in the middle of a competition. His feelings for him were the only thing he couldn’t compete for, because the result was clear, and in all the existing possibilities, he was the one who always came out losing.

The New Year didn’t imply losing the old habits. 

* * *

 

For the Slytherin Quidditch team, the New Year seemed to imply a new beginning.

All of the seventh-year students remained stupefied when unlike all the practices that had passed before the winter break and since the school year had begun, that afternoon the sixth-year duo that had been characterized by missing or doing what they wanted when they were present, had decided to appear to be willing to listen and follow all the instructions given to them as well as perform all the exercises like the others.

They weren’t so impressed with the fact that Yahaba was there since it had become clear that he wanted to change and was willing to behave in order to have the opportunity to face the one with whom he had spent his winter holidays, but the fact that Futakuchi was at his side without his typical arrogant smirk and with a serious face that indicated that he planned to follow what was planned for training instead of just being a burden, made everyone look at them with surprise. Even his best friend with whom he hadn’t yet chatted, despite the initial surprise at his presence, smiled because he knew that although he had missed him during the recess, Futakuchi seemed to have taken advantage of that time to make peace with himself. The two had decided to participate in the practices and even the Miya twins too, since those two had taken advantage of some of the afternoons in which the other duo of their same year hadn’t shown up to do the same.

Even Kindaichi remained surprised after having become accustomed to training only with those who were two years older than him, who although hadn’t received them with great hugs or thanking them for being there because that was what they had always been supposed to do, weren’t annoyed anyway. They resented, preferring to focus on the fact that they finally seemed willing to commit to the team instead of blaming them for having lost the first game of the Quidditch season.

Oikawa smiled proudly, and Kuroo probably would have done the same in case he didn’t know if he had made the right decision or not, because just as the presence of the sixth-years had made his teammates remain impressed, he knew that he had a surprise of his own that would make the whole team been more than stupefied. And he didn’t know if what he had decided to do would cause the team to finally reach its peak or return to its base in ruins, given that his surprise could cause the final fall of the team, or the remaining ingredient they needed to be considered a threat for the other teams of quidditch. And he remained as intrigued as anxious when the sixth-years present in the field ceased to be only four.

He felt the surprise look that Oikawa throw at him as well as the stupefaction that characterized the other members of the team that remained totally surprised when, like him, they all rested their eyes on the one who had just made his presence cause more commotion than the fact that those of his own year had decided to appear.

Kyoutani observed them all with an extremely serious expression.

Kuroo knew that he had also put himself in dangerous territory because having talked with the one who had previously belonged to the team, could cause the rest to stop trusting him or the decisions he made as the captain he was. And fortunately, he felt calmer when he realized that just as he had been chosen to fill that role, Oikawa had been chosen to be his vice-captain.

"Happy new year for us, I guess." He expressed when he noticed that the rest of the players seemed to continue to be astonished enough at the new presence while Kuroo seemed to be on the verge of a new crisis, and he remained surprised when the new one got away from him as soon as he tried to approach him.

"I told him to come if he felt like it." Kuroo mentioned after coughing to eliminate any trace of nervousness in his voice.

They all rested their impressed looks on him.

Kyoutani had been on the team for the past year until the fact that the team was commanded by authoritarian people had filled with his short patience as well as that Slytherin later didn’t win the cup, and although he was known not only for being a fierce player, but also for being an extremely complicated and problematic person, and generally holding a reluctant attitude that made the team infected with their own lack of control, Kuroo had believed that he had done the right thing by contacting him to assure him that he still had a place in the team if he wanted to return to play quidditch with them again.

“How is it possible that you lost the first game?” Kyoutani asked, the gold of his eyes as severe as always. “And even against Gryffindor.”

Kindaichi remained stupefied, Daishou arched an eyebrow, Iwaizumi rehang his hoodie to prepare to use his arm against him, Hanamaki began to have a tic in the eye, a vein was noticed in Matsukawa’s forehead, and the smile on Suga's face seemed like anything but a pleasant gesture.

"You weren’t here so it doesn’t matter." Kuroo replied, realizing that it wasn’t the time to start wondering if it was time to regret or be thankful for what he had done, or to explain to the newcomer why they had achieved a defeat instead of a victory during the first quidditch match of the season.  And what he least needed was for that bad streak to continue to be imposed on his team, so he finally decided to take advantage of his position to speak. “Everyone seems to have agreed to come today, so let's do something productive before it starts snowing." He added taking the broom he had previously rested on the grass.

He didn’t hesitate to mount on it, since he also didn’t want to know if the person whose confidence he had earned days before the beginning of winter break, had disappeared for a second time after having made the number of players of the team spread. He was followed by Iwaizumi and by Kindaichi, and Suga along with Hanamaki and Matsukawa looked at Oikawa before he laid his eyes on Yahaba, whom he wanted to talk to, but he knew that Kuroo was right and that they should take advantage of the fact that they were all present, so much to his regret, he rode on his broom like the others.

Atsumu and Osamu crossed a serious look between them, both recognizing on the face of the other, a flash of irritation, and doubting that flying on their brooms was better than staying with their feet on the ground to approach the one of their same year, they finally mounted on their brooms, being Futakuchi the one who didn’t hesitate to delay the riding on his broom to get close to who seemed to have decided to combine the color of his skin with his hair that was already completely silver, after having faded as well as remained motionless since they had become five sixth-years present, although remaining without moving hadn’t prevented his hands to being to tremble.

Futakuchi had dragged him into his web of lies, getting him to be on his side only because he had manipulated the truth, had made him defend him and act in his own immature and dishonest way, had made his actions and words accompanied by a resentment that really came from him, and had even caused him to hurt himself after having started an argument that had been initiated by a problem in which he had been linked. But reality was that they were best friends, and just as Yahaba had been for him, showing him that in any case he continued to respect him even though he had lied to him in so many different ways, he also found himself in the same way for him, and he didn’t hesitate to prove it to him by making Yahaba focus all of his attention on him when he rested one of his hands behind his head to make their foreheads stay together.

Yahaba had felt that all his muscles had stopped responding and that his nervous system had ceased to be a system because both his breathing and the beating of his heart had changed. He had remained as still as a statue, the only difference being that his hands were shaking and that his gaze had gone cloudy from one second to the next. He felt that a ghost had returned to torment him, when in reality, what made him feel he couldn’t move was made of flesh and blood. He could only think that it couldn't be true, that it couldn't be that every time he set out to move forward, life reminded him that it was impossible.

“I can’t…” Yahaba had planned to express a longer prayer but the closing of his throat prevented him from saying the words that were stuck in his mouth, “I can’t breathe," He added trembling.

Futakuchi frowned as soon as he heard him sound almost voiceless and on the verge of collapse as well as when he took his hand to see that evidently although he hadn’t moved from his place, Yahaba's body was betraying him by not being able to stay still, but he didn’t gave his own self permission to get angry, and chose to focus on his best friend, whose hand he rested on his own chest while holding it with his.

"Yes, you can." He assured him, “I'm breathing, so are you. I’m having your hand on my chest that goes up and down because I am breathing and because you are also breathing, do you feel it?”

Yahaba swallowed with extreme heaviness and lowered his eyes to their joined hands.

He could actually feel the chest of his best friend going up and down, which meant that he was breathing and that therefore he could also because there was nothing that was preventing him to do it, although perhaps his lack of air was due not to some external factor, but to a reason that wasn’t bothering his best friend.

Futakuchi knew what he was thinking as soon as he saw the fear in his eyes.

"No, look, you too," He expressed, moving his hands gently to Yahaba's chest so as not to cause him to feel more pressure in that part of his body. “Breathe with me, you know the way, the air goes from here," He again moved their hands to his own chest and then held them a few inches from his neck, “Around here,” He kept raising their hands that were never left unseen by Yahaba, “And around here." He breathed deeply to assure him that there was no shortage of air, “Say it with me.”

Yahaba swallowed heavily when Futakuchi again rested their hands on his chest.

"The air…" He swallowed again to make sure he could do it, “It goes from here," Futakuchi raised their hands to his neck, “Around here," His fingers brushed the skin of his neck, “And around here." He inhaled a great breath of air and felt calmer when he saw a trace of steam that left his body because his hot breath contrasted with the winter weather outside, which was only possible because his body gave him air.

Futakuchi smiled when Yahaba looked around understanding that there was nothing stopping him from breathing, although the hand he held was still trembling.

"There's air, you can breathe."

"There is air, I can breathe." Yahaba repeated like a kind of mantra.

"I'll tell you what," Futakuchi began to say, separating himself from him only by a few millimeters, “If you can get three of your bludgers to intercept my path, I'll share my gummies with you.”

“But they are disgusting.” Yahaba said with a small giggle.

Futakuchi smiled after achieving what he had set out, since he had always known that his best friend felt that sour gummies weren't tasty for his palate.

“Then if you do, I'll let you make a joke on Atsumu and say it was me.”

Yahaba smiled sideways, because as well as the seventh-years of their house had good relationships between them, mocking and bothering each other, the two of them together with the Miya brothers had learned to consider themselves close after he with Futakuchi began to tease them and Atsumu and Osamu returned the pranks to them, many times being fun because Osamu preferred to join them to bother his own brother.

"Okay," He agreed.

“Are you ready to play?” Futakuchi asked taking his hand with both of his.

Yahaba just wanted to leave, he wanted to disappear.

But he knew that leaving at that moment would only create a scandal, not only because leaving the field meant going somewhere in the castle to mourn and probably worsen his condition, but also because people would start talking, and before the winter break he had already called too much attention to continue to be the focus. So even though he was sure he wanted to leave, Yahaba only nodded instead of answering him.

But after not noticing him sure of his silent response, Futakuchi looked at him.

“You know that I am your best friend and that we have many enemies in common because we are both equally odious and therefore, I won’t hesitate to use that attitude, my attitude, in your favor should it be necessary.”

Yahaba held a small, fleeting smile. "Thank you," He said, knowing what he was referring to.

Futakuchi stuck out his tongue as he laughed to continue to keep him distracted, and he reached his broom so that the two of them would mount on their brooms, being watched intensely by the one who had come to provoke more than a change in the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Yahaba wants an escape.


	48. Chapter 48

To say he was upset was barely describing Yahaba's mood.

He had decided to show that he really was committed to the team after he hadn’t hesitated to show up at the first training after the winter break, so that all the team members could see that he really wanted to replace his poor performance with the right behavior and attitude, indicating that we wanted to be considered as another true player of the team. And when he realized that his best friend planned to do the same, he could only feel happy. Because unlike the others who were surprised to see them, he had never had any doubt that Futakuchi would show up at practice to prove that he also wanted the team to accept him, and that therefore, like him, they were looking to amend the mistakes they had made during the first game of the season.

He had believed that he would start from zero and that he would take advantage of the second opportunity he had been given to make it clear that his selfless attitude had been replaced by the motivation of wanting the green and silver colors to be those in holding the cup. He had believed that he would make the past stay in the past, only for it to show that it didn’t plan to let him go just because he had decided to change. The smile of being together with his best friend had been replaced as soon as the past itself had presented to him as a new addition to the team, and he felt totally ashamed as disappointed with himself after remembering that he had allowed the new beginning that he had planned, to be ruined by the pallor on his face, the rapid pulse in his neck, the tightness in his chest, the tremor in his hands, and the quick beat of his heart that his best friend had been able to control after assuring him that the lack of air only existed in his head instead of being a reality.

He hadn’t expected to have a panic attack during training.

And much less that Kyoutani appeared to declare that he was coming back to stay for real.

He had managed to survive the practice as he could, realizing that his best friend hadn’t been the only one determined to help him by making the panic attack stay away as well as keeping an eye on him all the time, since he knew there was no chance of being a coincidence when Oikawa had asked him to accompany him to do exercises on the ground while the others remained flying on their brooms, as well as that the Miya brothers had accompanied him at all times after the training would have ended.

But even if the people closest to him had managed to make the training not a complete disaster for his nerves, once he had returned to his room it had become clear to him that he would have to learn to manage his emotions and make those to be at his mercy and not otherwise, because Kyoutani hadn’t only came to be part of the team again, but also to share a room with Futakuchi and him, since it was enough for him to realize that the third bed that so far had remained empty since the year had begun, was currently made as well as other things were in the room.

While momentarily distracted after the roles have seemed to exchanged when Futakuchi noticed the same thing and he got angry, because one thing was to return to be part of the team but another completely different was to reappear in every possible way, while he was the one who calmed him down, assuring him that it wasn’t worth his time if he remained angry, even though his feelings indicated the opposite.

Emotions that rushed against him even if he didn’t want to.

Emotions that kept him on constant alert when after finishing dinner, he chose to remain in his room while Futakuchi in the bathroom because everyone should have their privacy and Yahaba didn’t want his best friend to be tired of him after having been protecting him all day, which had only made him stay on his bed with his eyes glued to the door of the room where he was no longer alone, since Futakuchi had ceased to be his only roommate.

Yahaba was sure that a mark would be engraved on his face from so much frowning, but he simply couldn’t help it, because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop holding the expression that represented a bitter combination of anger, frustration, and sadness, as well nor could he avoid wondering how it was possible that his state of mind had betrayed him and not ceased to suffer so many alterations in just one day, following a single event that marked the rhythm of his emotions throughout the day.

His come back.

He was aware that Kyoutani had never left the castle, nor did he stop attending classes, show up at the Great Hall during dinner time or belong to his own house, but the distance that Kyoutani had imposed on both of them as well the sense of emptiness to which Yahaba had become accustomed, had been enough for him to think that he had stopped belonging to his own house after Kyoutani also decided to take advantage of his resignation from the team to also stop being in the same room as him and Futakuchi, since although since the year had begun it had only been the two of them, it hadn’t always been that way.

He and Kyoutani had managed to join the team and be part of it as well as allowing the sharing of training to quickly become chatting once they finished, that Futakuchi began to want to be in another room because they kept talking once they left the Great Hall after dinner, and that had continued until it finally evolved into a situation in which time within the field of quidditch wasn’t enough as well as the words crossed between the two, in which the caresses had become the basis and the kisses in the ecstasy that they allowed themselves to give to each other because they had discovered that Quidditch wasn’t the only thing they had in common. Their friendship had developed into a relationship where they remained close, not because they were mounted on their brooms and fly close to each other, but because they needed the heat of the other body to live, in a relationship where one didn’t want to be without the other because they couldn’t.

At least Yahaba had believed that.

His happiness had been replaced not only when Slytherin didn’t win the quidditch tournament, but when after Kyoutani himself fought with the seventh years of that time and chose to resign the team as well as decide that he would also leave what the entire team had brought to his life, Yahaba being in that decision. Suddenly one of the beds in his room was empty as well as half of the closet, from one moment to the other the plans for his vacation had been undone, his emotions had taken a turn, and his heart had been broken.

From morning to night his life had changed and his feelings had been those of bearing the consequences of Kyoutani's complete estrangement that had made it clear that the Quidditch team wasn’t the only thing from which he would stay away, making Yahaba spent his summer between panic attacks while Futakuchi had learned to handle them because he hadn’t hesitated to stay by his side to comfort him, which explained why Yahaba hadn’t doubt to stand on his side when the whole situation with Kuroo had emerged.

His best friend’s company had prevented him from falling more than he had already done, that the relationship between them increased with confidence and security, and that little by little, he began to repress those feelings as well as getting used to living with emptiness in his chest and frustration in his thoughts. The summer holidays had helped him to adapt to Kyoutani's absence in his life as well as the emotions that usually used to throw him when he was alone. He had learned that looking without being sought only would continue to make his pain grow, so he had decided to accept that the distance between them was final no matter how many tears he had shed.

He had started the new school year with his best friend by his side and with his heart oppressed but accustomed to not beating with the same vividness as before, and had been distracted by his best friend's own emotional problems, making his life impossible to the captain of their team, and allowing part of his frustration to be externalized through sarcastic comments when a particular Ravenclaw approached to interrupt his days with the same ironic words that he had begun to appreciate after realizing that he distracted him.

He had grown accustomed to thinking that in the room it had always been Futakuchi and him as well as to ignore the fact that Kyoutani continued to be in the same places he did not only because they both studied at Hogwarts, but because both belonged to the same house and therefore used the same common room as well as they sat in the same table at the Great Hall. Although it had been clear to him that although he could ignore his complete presence, it wasn’t the same to deceive his heart, and the fact that he had chosen to cross out all the drawings of Kyoutani’s birthday date that he had unconsciously drawn, as well as the ways in which he had reacted when Watari, Oikawa and Kuroo, had mentioned him, were proof of the same.

The thoughts, the feelings, the emotions, the memories.

Yahaba knew that he had never managed to get rid of all of them, but he hadn’t expected them to suddenly decide to jump on him because their paths had finally crossed once more. All the sensations had returned to suffocate him, assuring him that all the effort he had made to get used to working without him in his life, had been thrown away to be replaced by feelings that returned to stalk him again, as if they had always stayed alert and ready in case of returning to torment him. In the winter break he had decided to leave Kyoutani behind, only to have him come back.

If Kyoutani hadn’t even appeared when he had hurt himself, why had he decided to interrupt his life again? He had returned to the Quidditch team as well as to be his roommate. Without his permission, without his consent, and without his acceptance. Without his forgiveness. He had returned to remind him that his heart couldn’t be deceived in the same way as his head.

Yahaba pressed his lips in a clear sign of disgust and was grateful to have his hands clinging to the sheets so as not to dig his own nails into the palms of his hands. He didn’t want to accept that a jumble of emotions had begun to grow within him since the quidditch practice, he didn’t want to accept the pangs in his stomach that were already present nor the tightness in his chest that had led him to have a panic attack during the training, thinking that he had managed to stop those from happening in his body a long time ago.

The shock was overwhelming enough to not allow him to close his eyes and let his mind wander. His head didn’t respond to him and he didn’t seem able to take charge of his emotions. He was tired both physically and emotionally, and he wanted to be able to alienate himself from the impulses his body kept sending him, but he couldn’t. He wished he could hide under his sheets for a long time and not have to leave that shelter that in any case didn’t prevent the terrible tension that his body perceived in himself as much as in the place he was, no matter how much he believed that his sheets could protect him. He was angry, because although he remained protected under his sheets, he believed that he shouldn’t be the one in hiding, but he who had been hidden for the last time and had suddenly decided to appear to cause emotional dizziness and make it clear that without no matter how much time elapsed, he would always lose control of himself when it came to him. Making him implore that Futakuchi opened the door and went in to make sure that he continued on his side and that he wouldn’t let anything happen, that he felt unprotected in his own room where it had cost him so much to feel comfortable again only to return to love again to find his ownself in any other space.

He considered that it wasn’t fair that it was he who should stay all night without sleep, feeling how his emotions attacked him without rest, when all he wanted was to rest his mind and spend a few hours without thinking or feeling, so although he wanted to disappear, he decided to uncover and sit up in his bed. And his angry expression only continued to increase when he realized that the tension only came from his own body, as he sighted Kyoutani sleeping as if that day nothing important had happened and it had only been like any other day, as if they hadn’t returned to find themselves closer than expected, and as if he meant nothing to him.

He detested that he remained with his eyes closed when he couldn’t even think of reconciling sleep with all the discomfort in his body, because although anxiety handled him and sadness oppressed him, that didn’t take away that a part of him was furious for all the unleashing emotions that he had suffered only in one day. He didn’t tolerate that the other seemed to have completely overcome him after sleeping without any problem, as if they had never been close and never had a special relationship between them, as if they had never met and only had been in different rooms for the lack of beds instead of for all the reasons that were truly behind. Yahaba had spent days and nights wondering why he wasn’t enough, why he had also been left behind, abandoned and forgotten when he hadn’t done or said anything to justify it, why a defeat of a championship had been the defeat of their relationship and of his own happiness.

There had been times when he had felt that air didn’t exist and that being cheerful would never be possible for him, in which he had felt that even Futakuchi would grow tired of him for not improving fast enough to return to being the same as always, in those where he had felt that even his own parents would get tired of seeing him without smiling. His summer had been a hell and not exactly because of the weather, and his heart hadn’t yet returned to be the same, and he didn’t consider it fair. So without thinking more than twice because he knew that in that way he could only attract the dangerous to him, he threw his pillow at Kyoutani.

Because he wouldn’t accept being the only one suffering.

The one who got his fury through a pillow, got up unexpectedly staying totally confused, and wondering what it had been to interrupt his sleep routine that had cost him so much to achieve, until he sighted the pillow next to him and directed his eyes towards the only bed occupied besides his to remember that it was his fault to find Yahaba watching him with a frown, whose fatal brownish look seemed to become vulnerable when their eyes finally crossed.

Yahaba wanted to scream, wanted to cry. He wanted to stop remembering all the moments in which that hostile golden look had looked at him in a different way, in a way that made him feel secure while at the same time making a smile appear on his face. He wanted his mind to stop deceiving him by showing him that his feelings were still present, that his emotions would never disappear, although fortunately for him, anger was one of them.

“I hate you.” Yahaba stated.

There were so many questions that he wanted to ask him, so many answers he wanted to hear, and so many sentences he wanted to make to tell him in all the ways he felt.

But at that moment he didn’t have the strength to do it because he didn’t want to continue damaging himself and because he wouldn’t give him the pleasure of making him angry even though he already was, so after expressing those three words, he turned to go back to covering himself with his sheets, without even understanding how he had managed to hold his gaze and direct those words without collapsing in the process. He bit the inside of his lower lip and held onto the sheets tightly while Kyoutani's scowl frowned on his own as he remained motionless, wondering if there had been some kind of hidden message in that verbal formulation he received with annoyance.

Immediately Yahaba regretted what he had done, not only because the frustration seemed to have replaced the blood in his veins and the air in his lungs, but also because he had run out of where to rest his head. And as if he had read his thoughts, he felt something hit the back of his head despite hiding under the sheets, which caused him to uncover himself badly and turn to rest his eyes on his pillow before diverting his gaze on Kyoutani, who had thrown it back. But he didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing him even more annoyed, so he chose to take his pillow and form a small pout with his lips before turning again to rest his head on that instead of throwing it again, although it wasn’t necessary because he received a second pillow, to which he decided not to react because he had already played enough games, and felt like he was a game, to join another.

He heard Kyoutani complain as well as a series of steps, and wasn’t surprised when he appeared in his vision field after seeing him heading towards the door of the room, allowing Yahaba not to be impressed and angry because apparently his first choice would always be to leave the room, and him behind. He was tired of Kyoutani escaping from his actions while the real consequences of them were suffered by him.

“Go away. As you always do." Yahaba murmured annoyed before turning around.

But he didn’t hear the door being open or close in a violent way, nor steps away from the corridor, and the bitter sensation that Kyoutani’s absence caused him didn’t appear.

“What did you just say?”

Yahaba's whole body tensed when he heard Kyoutani’s voice much closer than he expected. He felt his chest close and his throat be completely dry, but unlike what happened in the quidditch training where he had allowed the sadness to surpass him, in that moment the annoyance made him turn around to face him. Kyoutani had approached him and was standing next to his bed, and he decided to uncover halfway as he watched him frowning at the same time he dropped the full weight of his body on the forearm that lay on the mattress, being grateful that it didn’t turn out to be the one where he still wore a bandage, because although it no longer hurt him and it was only a nuisance, he knew that any grimace of pain due to that would had been interpreted by Kyoutani in the wrong way.

“Go. Apparently it's the best you can do." He repeated without hesitation, looking at him.

For a long time Yahaba had shown his true way of defending himself.

He accepted that since his heart he had been broken, he hadn’t been the same again and that many people probably took advantage of his personality transformation, but nobody had dared to confront him after he had understood that he should never look down no matter how close to collapse he was. That he should always keep his face up and not look away no matter how weak he felt, because people feared when they glimpsed that he planned to defend himself without caring how fragile he was.

He was nervous and could feel a tremor accentuate the extremities of his body, but he was also angry, and allowed both his severe tone of voice and the serious expression on his face to make it clear along with his determined look. He hated that Kyoutani chose to leave instead of staying but he also hated that he stayed in the same place as him instead of escaping. He hated that he had ignored him for too long to not be able to do the calculation but he also hated that at that moment he had approached him. He hated everything about him.

But above all, he hated himself because he knew that hatred wasn’t the only thing he felt.

"Give me back my pillow." Kyoutani demanded.

Although Yahaba chose to listen to him, that didn’t prevent him from doing it his way after throwing the pillow against his chest, and the anger inside him continued to grow when instead of ignoring him as he had during the last time, Kyoutani gave him a pillow in the face, so he didn’t hesitate to remove the pillow he had left under his head to suddenly start a back and forth of pillows that unlocked a new level of closeness and anguish when Kyoutani sat down next to him. But the short war of pillows came to an end when Kyoutani took both his pillow and Yahaba's to put them aside as well as replace those with a physical contact between them when he closed his hands around his wrists to imprison him so as not to let him get rid of his frustration against him and to make him lie down again so that he couldn’t defend himself.

Yahaba exhaled a great breath of air without having previously inhaled and then swallowed with heaviness as he felt his stomach contract. Kyoutani’s sudden closeness to him did nothing but cause alterations in his body with which he wasn’t comfortable. He had spent countless days and nights thinking that he didn’t want to have feelings, believing that his life would improve if his heart was removed and his memory erased, only so that the hostile look would reappear in his life to shock his feelings, alter his thoughts and ignite an alarm inside him that at that moment was presented in the form of an intense tingle coming from the area in which their skins touched, and he bit his lower lip totally frightened when he learned that the feeling he had felt multiple times when he was with Kyoutani, was again trying to make its entrance.

A new kind of feeling began to run not only for Yahaba's body, but for Kyoutani's as well. A type of emotion that they knew with depth, a kind of craving that their bodies began to yearn to be satisfied. The kind of tension that didn’t come from a simple and annoying pillow fight, nor from the release of a series of frustrations that still needed to be eliminated, but was established by the inner feeling that pushed them to be nervous and feel compelled to conquer the ambition that their impulses longed for. The kind of desire that caused their hearts to throb quickly and their eyes to devour with lust, that needed to be satiated even though they tried to repress it. It wasn’t the first time that the anger they felt for each other was transformed into the tension and crave of closeness that at that moment once again predominated over any existing feeling, and that in previous times had acted as a trigger mechanism so that the discussions between them will end up in long sessions of caresses. But it was the first time it made its appearance with extreme intensity.

“Try something and I'll hit you.”

Yahaba hadn’t been slow in recognizing the desire that his body wanted to satisfy, but unlike previous times, he wouldn’t forgive himself if he gave in to what his body was waiting to achieve. He managed to triumph over his own emotions when he chose to act under his pride and not allow his feelings to continue to exert control over his body. He wasn’t willing to lose his dignity, and Kyoutani didn’t seem to be offended.

“Are you sure of your words?” He asked.

Yahaba hated that the one who still kept intact the contact between the two didn’t get angry with him or raise his upper lip in disgust, because that meant that Kyoutani didn’t believe in the words he had just mentioned no matter how safe and determined he would have expressed them, and therefore, knew he was lying.

He knew that he would end up breaking his own self if he continued to deal with that situation, so he managed to free himself from him and thus get rid of the contact formed between the two, and Kyoutani was forced to move once he turned around to cover himself again up to the neck with his sheets, since not being impossible to feel didn’t imply that he would give in to what his body implored him to satisfy.

He wanted that contact between the two. He wanted Kyoutani to take him back from his wrists and even eliminate the little distance that remained between the two. He wanted the situation to take a not so unexpected turn. But above all, he wanted that those possible outcomes that he began to imagine in his head, were replaced by a wave of anger that allowed him to stay in a firm position with respect to the one who was sitting next to him, and who at that moment decided to speak again.

"I will get you back." Kyoutani assured him.

Yahaba closed his eyes tightly and breathed deeply as Futakuchi had taught him to do when he felt the air in his lungs was disappearing.

Temptation was at his side but he couldn’t give in.

It was true that he couldn’t forget all the moments they had spent together, side by side loving each other, knowing each other, allowing both their skins and hearts to meet repeatedly. But it was also true that he couldn’t stop remembering all the nights he had spent crying, all the moments in which Futakuchi had assured him that he shouldn’t give up, and all the effort he had made to not let himself disappoint.

What response could he give to such a statement?

He was annoyed because he wasn’t as strong as he wanted to be and he didn’t want his voice to break like the rest of his body because a knot had appeared in his throat.

He decided to provide the only answer that would hold the same caliber of intensity.

Silence.

He didn’t open his mouth to answer because the absence of words was an answer itself, and he continued without saying anything once the mattress next to him returned to normal because Kyoutani decided to return to his bed after realizing that his only answer would be that one, but once he heard the door open and felt that his mattress again sank because Futakuchi hadn’t even hesitated to sleep with him knowing how he felt, Yahaba turned to allow himself to be embraced by the one on whose chest, he released the first tear. 

* * *

 

Akaashi again lowered the book when he realized that although he kept it open, he wasn’t reading. He had thought that not being in his room and taking a book with him would help him to concentrate on something more than his thoughts, but the fact of having advanced three pages and not even remembering what he had read, had just shown him that no matter if he changed places or read something that interested him, he couldn’t concentrate on the pages of the book, so he chose to close it and leave it on his lap since he had his legs flexed, his knees near his chest, and he slid his eyes towards the sky.

He was the only in the Ravenclaw common room since it was already late and the rest was sleeping. Even the chimney was turned off, which was why he had put on Bokuto’s gray sweater that had basically become his, before leaving the room. He had chosen to sit in one of the corners of the blue sofa closest to one of the windows so that he could watch the dark, partly cloudy, sky. Usually the common room used to be full because most Ravenclaw’s students believed that it was the most comfortable place to study, since if someone spoke it was in a low voice, and unlike the library or the Great Hall, there were no people from other houses who would approached them to ask them questions that they thought they would be able to answer just because they carried the eagle shield in their tunics. At first glance it seemed like a cold place, but each one of those who wore ties of blue and bronze lines had learned to feel at ease.

And Akaashi turned out to be one of the people who believed that his common room was more beautiful at night, when no noise was heard and everything seemed to be extremely still, although at that time, the absence of movement and noise allowed him to continue being able to only listen to his own thoughts. He had left his room because he hadn’t wanted to wake up Kenma or Ennoshita after continuing to turn around on his bed no matter how tired he would have felt and considering that the next day he had to get up early, as well as because he had believed that taking a book with him would clear him of the doubts that had begun to appear in his head since he had been at the express with Bokuto.

He still thought it was no coincidence that Bokuto had asked him that question without holding a smile on his face. He could have taken his words as a joke in case he had accompanied his words with the typical gesture of joy that characterized him, but considering that only an expression of seriousness had accentuated on his face when he had asked if he would replace him, had done that at that moment he found himself unable to sleep, asking himself questions he didn't know he had. He knew that it had only been a few seconds in which Bokuto hadn’t smiled, but just as Bokuto had learned to read him, he could say the same about him, so he was certain that some thoughts had been found behind Bokuto’s words.

Thoughts he couldn't decipher.

He wondered if at some point, unconsciously, he had made Bokuto think that he wasn’t the only one he wanted to be with, even if the only answer that appeared when he made that question, was a denial, since whenever he thought of himself when he was with Bokuto, the only images that appeared in his head were of them together, he assuring Bokuto through the union of their hands or their mouths, that he was the only one he wanted to kiss or whose hands he wanted to join with his. And when he wondered if he had somehow demonstrated himself in a close way with someone else, again a denial was what his mind gave him, since he didn’t remember seeing anyone else in the way he only saw Bokuto. He didn't behave or act with anyone else in the way he did with him, so he didn't understand why Bokuto had asked him that question in a serious way and not in the form of a joke, until the possibility of not being understood arose.

But the more he thought, the more he got confused.

If he hadn't done anything to make it difficult to understand himself, then the one who didn't understand was Bokuto.

And the simple fact of thinking that Bokuto didn’t understand him, was what a that moment had led him to find himself without sleep, having failed to concentrate on something else after having a book with him, or to be distracted by observing the sky. His actions were his way of demonstrating what he felt, of expressing why, and for whom, his heart was beating, and just thinking that perhaps that wasn’t enough, made him feel uneasy.

“Can’t sleep?”

His alert gaze stopped being on the window when he turned his head and spotted Kenma sitting in front of him on the couch, who, unlike him, had directly decided to move with his blue blanket around his shoulders.

“Did I wake you?” Akaashi asked, and Kenma shook his head. “No.” He added, lowering his eyes.

Kenma took the opportunity to scan him with his golden, recently awake, eyes. He had certainly not heard Akaashi leave the room, but after he had turned on his bed and had opened his eyes because his forehead smaked with the electronic device that he had apparently dropped after falling asleep, and moved to left it on his bedside table, only to realize that one of the beds remained empty, he had gone down to the common room to confirm his suspicions that Akaashi had chosen to be there instead of simply having gone to the bathroom, and it was enough to listen to him as well as to see him to understand that it wasn’t just insomnia what kept him awake, so he didn’t doubt to pretend that he was hovering flies, and after Akaashi opened his legs when he saw him, he settled between them as well as on his chest, taking advantage of the fact that he had taken his blanket with him to cover the legs of both, although anyway Akaashi crossed his arms over his chest, and Kenma watched the book he had been reading, or at least making the attempt, when he took it with his hands.

"I didn't know you were still reading about Muggles." He said.

"I still think it's important to learn." Akashi looked at the cover of the object.

Kenma held a small smile on his face, since unlike him, who had both magical and non-magical descent in his family, and Ennoshita, who was the only one to possess magic in his family, Akaashi's family was completely magical, just like Kuroo’s.

"Can I ask you a question about that?" Akaashi added, as he continued to want to remain distracted from his own thoughts, and as soon as he felt the movement of Kenma's head nodding, he continued. “I didn’t understand how to play volleyball, and neither the usefulness of golf.” He expressed, since after having been reading about the different sports that the non-magical community had, he still didn’t understand the purpose of keeping a ball in the air, nor where was the fun on pushing a small ball with a stick so that it would go into small holes.

That one accommodated on his body let out a small chuckle after listening to him, since his words had reminded him of the moment when Kuroo being ten years old, and he nine, he had appeared in the room of his house with a confused and surprised expression on his face, to ask if they could use magic in plain sight because he had seen one of their neighbors with a ball in the air, just so that it turned out to be playing volleyball. Kenma smiled after remembering the way in which Kuroo had listened to him with great attention while he had explained what volleyball was, and the same at that moment led him to carry a sad smile on his face, remembering the moments in which both were small and took advantage of Kuroo's family being completely magical while his half so that both explained to each other about things of the two worlds that surrounded them, both magical and non-magical.

"I guess golf is about precision, it’s a more class sport, I think, of high classes," He explained, leaving the book aside so he could stay with his hands on the edge of the blanket while Akaashi rested his head on the sofa to rest his eyes on the sky again while his ears were attentive to his best friend’s words. “There’s also mini golf, it’s in smaller fields and it’s usually found in fairs, something less formal,” He continued, Kenma always finding it fun to tell them about the simplest things that were completely ordinary for him, being happy that people who came from completely magical families, were intrigued and curious about the characteristics of one of the worlds that was part of his life. “And volleyball, I think, is more complicated than it seems, I don't know much but, there are always two teams the ones to face, and there are six players on each side with a net in the middle. Have you seen that there are different positions in quidditch? In volleyball too.”

“How many?”

Kenma took his hands from under the blanket to list the answer. “There are setters, liberos, middle blockers, and wing spikers. The first ones are the ones who know how to lift the ball better, who are given the ball to then lift it to the wing spikers, who are the ones who hit the ball to the other side of the net. They are like chasers because they are those who score points. The blockers are those that face the wing spikers so that the ball doesn’t pass, and they jump to try to cover them, although wing spikers can also block and middle blockers hit the ball too. I guess they can be like beaters because they block the ball and other players. Liberos are like keepers, they are the defense, the ones that try to keep the ball from hitting the floor and actually staying in the air. They only can defend.” Akaashi wrinkled his nose after hearing him, as it still sounded like a complicated sport. "Oh, and I think there’s also the ace," He heard Kenma follow, and he lowered his eyes to his head.

“Ace?” He asked confused, “I didn't know that being asexual was important in this sport.”

"No, it's not about that," Kenma said along with a chuckle, “Ace is like the star of the team.”

“Star?” Akashi raised an eyebrow, intrigue waking him.

“It’s like the stronger player, whom you trust when a match is getting difficult, it’s usually a wing spiker, or well, some people say it’s the one who makes the most points. Kind of like, Bokuto I guess, maybe Tanaka, or Iwaizumi.” He heard Kenma add, who had begun to think about the players of the quidditch teams of the four houses so he could explain his best friend in more detail. “I guess in our case it could be Sakusa, but you and Ennoshita also stand out so I don’t really know.”

“But wouldn't it be you? When a game becomes difficult, the seeker is trusted. And the seeker is the one who gets the most points.”

Kenma raised both eyebrows and formed a line with his lips when he heard him. "Maybe." He said, since he wasn’t sure that it was okay to consider himself as the star of their team. “I don’t know. There are times when although the seeker gets the snitch, the other team wins anyway because the chasers got the necessary points to exceed one hundred and fifty.”

After hearing his words, and although his roommate had mentioned several names, Akaashi's mind only focused on the first one, when, in addition, Kenma assured him that chasers were the most outstanding players. He supposed that he understood the meaning of being the star of a team if by that he meant a player who could disarm the defense of the opposing team with just their presence and their way of developing and playing, the person who managed to change the rhythm of a match as well as attracting the attention of all those who were watching, since every time Bokuto played, all he wanted to do was follow him with his eyes. He knew that feeling, but he also knew that that also might have to do with the fact that he saw Bokuto in a different way both inside and outside the quidditch field, regardless of whether he was on his broom or not.

Kenma watched Akaashi's hands clench into soft fists at the same time that the body on which he was accommodated, was accompanied by a brief tension.

"Akaashi?" He said, resting his hands on his. He hadn’t wanted to ask questions since he knew that with his best friend it was no use doing that, but he already thought it was obvious that Akaashi hadn’t left the room just because of some simple though. “Are you okay?”

Akaashi realized that he had formed fists with his hands when he noticed Kenma's hands on his, and chose to open them again so that his palms were those in remaining on his best friend's chest. He had only thought of Bokuto and his body had reacted that way. He had to stop thinking, he had to stop allowing his thoughts to eat him from the inside.

"Just overthinking as always." He replied.

Kenma frowned slightly, since over the years he had learned to address the times when his best friend thought more simply because he did, than when he didn’t stop thinking because his own brain didn’t allow him. But he chose to remain silent and to accommodate himself better in Akaashi’s body, since if for the moment he wouldn’t press him to talk about why he hadn’t been able to fall asleep, at least he would keep him company.

Akaashi cursed himself. He had to stop thinking. He just had to stop thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Repressing feelings is hard, and sometimes impossible.


	49. Chapter 49

Yachi continued to look for the library shelf from where she had taken the book she was still holding with his hands. She had become accustomed to take some to later return them because sometimes she preferred to take her time to study the concepts in a certain way, and besides, since her classmates had seen that she was the most neat of all, they had begun to use the books by leaving the same in the center of the table while she tried to teach others, which explained why while she tried to find the shelf, she could listen to Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, Hinata, and Kageyama, or rather the last two arguing, since that afternoon they had chosen to meet at the library to study.

Yachi didn’t understand how it was that they hadn’t been banned from entering or thrown out of it. At the Great Hall they had realized it was no use because they only managed to get others to observe them in a bad way because they talked too much, and although at the library they weren’t supposed to make noise, there were fewer people the ones who study there, and after not being able to use the gardens to lay down in the grass since the weather wasn’t still the adequate, they had chosen to start getting together there. Although the study sessions always ended up with Hinata and Kageyama telling each other that they were slow, Yamaguchi finishing his homework, and Tsukishima saying nothing but sarcastic comments against the Gryffindor duo.

But despite the distractions, Yachi liked that she had formed a small group, since sometimes Tsukishima also explained some concepts to her, and other times she couldn't help but blush when Hinata and Kageyama didn’t doubt to exclaim that the only one who could make fun of them was her because she was in the more advanced classes.

That day she had chosen to finish her essay on thestrals, so in addition to the book in her hands, below was her sketchbook. She had discovered that Care of Magical Creatures was her favorite subject, because despite her fears, each creature had its own attractive characteristics, and she took advantage of each to draw.

"Are you using that book?"

She couldn't help but take a little jump in her place and therefore make the books fall when she suddenly heard a voice near her, and remained completely still when she spotted the person who had just spoken to her.

In front of her was nothing more or nothing less than the person who was able to get anyone to remain as Yachi, to have every student turn in the hall or focus their attention on the Ravenclaw table at the Great Hall, and whose name was mentioned as soon as the question about who were the most attractive people in the castle arose.

Kiyoko remained in front of her, although then she slid her eyes to the ground when she realized that with her sudden presence she made the books fall.

"Forgive me, it wasn't my intention to scare you.” She expressed, and didn't doubt to crouch beside those.

Yachi continued to feel like a statue. It seemed as if her brain that had made her be in the more advanced classes, ceased to exist because she had forgotten what it was like to have brain cells as well as stopped knowing what it was like to think. She wasn’t surprised that she had found Kiyoko since she didn’t doubt that she spent a lot of time at the library, but the fact that she suddenly was close to her as well as that she spoke to her, managed to make Yachi remained as if someone had cast the petrifying spell on her. Although when she saw that she had crouched down to collect her books, she did too.

"It’s..." She couldn't believe she was about to speak to the most intelligent person in Ravenclaw, the student who was always in the honor roll as well as present in the Quidditch matches, just like her. “It’s okay.” She managed to say, feeling her cheeks burn, probably being the same color as any Gryffindor student's tie.

"Wow," Yachi suddenly dared to look up when she heard Kiyoko, “Did you do this?” She listened, and again she felt herself transform into a statue as she looked down, realizing that Kiyoko had spoken about her drawings since some sheets had come off her notebook. She was looking at the one she had done of a thestral, since she had wanted to add a drawing to her essay so that the proportions of the body would remain in her head for the exam.

It usually didn't bother her that people saw her drawings and even smiled when Yamaguchi said they were good since he was the one who used to see them the most. But the fact that Kiyoko remained with her grey eyes on one of her drawings suddenly made her think that perhaps she should have improved it more, that she should have spent more time in the drawing.

Yachi swallowed, and thanked herself for having had a light lunch since she believed that she would probably have felt nauseous otherwise.

“Yes.” She replied.

“It’s very pretty.”

Kiyoko had just completed her drawing.

A drawing she had made.

“Usually people don’t realize the beauty of thestrals because they don’t hesitate to walk away as soon as they see them, if they can.” Kiyoko continued, and Yachi forced herself not to tremble when she gave her drawing as well as her notebook. The Ravenclaw also handed her the book before getting up, and Yachi got up in an automatic movement. “Do you like Care of Magical Creatures?”

Yachi looked up, and wondered how the rest of the Ravenclaw students did to not remain dumbfounded every time they crossed or talked with Kiyoko, since by just seeing her, she remained stunned. As she had mentioned to Yamaguchi, she believed that Kiyoko was the prettiest person who walked through the castle, and having her close had only kept her thinking the same. Kiyoko's presence alone was as if she were telling him that she only wanted her to draw her, her, her graceful facial features and her elegant silhouette, that she should try to capture her with pencil and paper because she would never had again the opportunity to draw something, someone so perfect, to capture such a dignified image.

"Yes." She replied, remembering that she couldn’t dare to not answer. “It's my favorite.” She said, and only felt the heat on her cheeks spread when she witnessed the way the corners of Kiyoko's mouth rose to form a smile.

"I will specialize in that," She commented, “You can ask me questions if you have any.”

Kiyoko just suggested that she could ask her questions.

She had just expressed that she was worthy of being close to her presence because she also found the beauty in knowing about magical creatures.

"If you weren’t using it, I was really looking for that book though." The Ravenclaw added, pointing to the book in her hands.

Suddenly Yachi looked down at one of the books she continued to carry, and didn’t hesitate to give it to her as soon as he heard her.

"I was done." Yachi said suddenly.

She would probably have given it to her even if she had just taken it off the shelf.

Kiyoko took it, and Yachi felt a sensation of warmth spread from her fingertips to the rest of her body when those brush the Ravenclaw’s in the transfer of the book.

"Thank you." Kiyoko expressed, and gave her another smile before she left.

Yachi remained still in her place. Not only had she seen Kiyoko more closely, but she had spoken with her. Kiyoko had congratulated one of her drawings, she had said that if she wanted she could approach her to ask questions about apparently an interest they shared, and above it, she had been grateful for giving her the book. Even their skins had brushed.

“You are welcome!” She shouted suddenly, and Kiyoko just turned around to laugh and then keep going to her table.

Yachi was finally able to react, and as if she were a robot, she walked to the table where apparently Hinata and Kageyama continued fighting by arguing who of the two would manage to see a thestral first, while Tsukishima told them that only people who had witnessed deaths could do so. Yamaguchi took his eyes off his patch when the chair next to him was again occupied, and raised both eyebrows when he spotted Yachi's face completely red.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, and even though Yachi opened her mouth to answer, she didn't speak loudly enough. “What?”

“She spoke to me.”

Yamaguchi tilted his head when he noticed his housemate as if she was totally thinking or someone had cast a spell of confusion on her.

"Who spoke to you?"

“She.”

“She?” Yamaguchi looked around after not understanding her, and after seeing Kiyoko sitting at one of the tables with the book that Yachi had previously held, he remained speechless. “She spoke to you.”

"She spoke to me." Yachi repeated.

"You know, I understand that these two puppies are not intelligent, much less now that they share a room, and even with Inuoka, because between the three they don't join a single brain cell," They both heard that Tsukishima said, followed by complaints from the Gryffindor duo who stated they were lions and not puppies, “But I hope their idiocy is not infecting you.”

"Tsukishima how do you do it?" Yachi asked.

“Eh?” The blond remained completely confused just as Hinata and Kageyama stopped arguing with each other when everyone laid eyes on Yachi, who had ignored the words of the only Ravenclaw at the table.

"How do you talk when she does it?"

Yamaguchi couldn’t help but laugh, and then approached the blond who was sitting on his other side. "She talked to Kiyoko-san," He whispered at the same time that Tsukishima had approached him to hear him.

"Oh." Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. “I just talk?”

“Teach me how please!” The Ravenclaw suddenly opened his eyes like two big plates when Yachi stood up and made a bow with her head.

Yamaguchi interspersed his gaze between them, seeming to be totally amused with the idea of being in the middle of a completely flustered Yachi, and a confused Tsukishima, while in front of them, Hinata attracted Kageyama towards him.

"What do you think they're talking about?" He asked him quietly.

“A new spell to speak, maybe?” Kageyama suggested.

“That exists?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe it's an advanced class spell.”

The two looked at each other, and then shrugged. 

* * *

 

One of the reasons why the fifth-year group had chosen to study, or at least try to, at the library, was because at that time, Daichi was finishing his homework at the Great Hall, and they knew, at least Hinata and Kageyama, that he wouldn’t doubt to scold them in case they made too much noise. The Gryffindor’s team capitan had agreed to meet with Suga so he chose to advance his homework for one of the subjects while he waited. Usually his best friend used to be with him when it came to study, but Yaku was still obsessed with the idea of hiding from a certain Hufflepuff, so he remained without company, certainly wondering unconsciously why he didn't hear background screams.

Or at least that's what he thought.

“Sawamura!”

Michimiya, a girl from his same house and same year, and also, a friend from his childhood, appeared at his side along with a somewhat nervous smile. They had known each other since they had memory and they had always been close. They had even spent some time together during the winter break because their families were friends, and the fact that they were sorted in the same house and that the closeness between them only grew, made Daichi smiled broadly when he heard her and then sighted her at his side.

“Michimiya!” He exclaimed equally cheerfully.

The aforementioned took place at his side and continued holding the same restless smile.

"I wanted to talk about something with you, if you have the time." She said.

“Sure!” Daichi closed the book in front of him and focused his attention on the girl.

She seemed to be somewhat restless, scratching the back of her neck nervously and smiling the same way. “The point is that...” She began to speak but quickly was slowed down. Her stomach ached and the palms of her hands sweated helplessly. She still didn’t understand how she had managed to gather enough courage to be there, sitting next to him, but she realized that she would only feel regretful if she left and put some senseless excuse, so she smiled sideways and again took up the word. "I don’t want you to be scared, but I like you." She managed to say, and Daichi avoided the surprise to be evident on his face since he hadn’t expected at all to be the one to hear those sentences. “I know it may sound weird since we have been friends for a long time and between us there has never been more than a very important friendship, but, the truth is that I can’t continue pretending what I feel. When our families came together at Christmas I almost confess how I feel about you, but I still felt very nervous. But not now. And I really don’t want you to be scared, but the truth is this.”

Daichi opened his mouth several times but was unable to release any words, as he had expected her to ask him something about the subject he had been focused on or about the quidditch practices and the preparation for the next match, not that she confessed the apparent feelings about which he had never realized. He didn’t wait to hear that confession on her part, let alone answer it.

However, the nervousness that Michimiya managed to transmit him was replaced by a feeling of relaxation when he realized all he had managed to do to express the next words that came from his lips.

“I like someone else, Michimiya. I'm sorry, but I—”

He wanted to continue talking, but stopped when the girl in front of him quickly shook her head as she also moved his hands desperately. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, and for the same reason Daichi smiled. “Don't say it, don’t continue. I had a feeling you would say something like that because I know you and lately you seem happier," She mentioned, and he managed to feel the sudden feeling of discomfort that had come over them, disappeared when Michimiya giggled. “I know you probably think why then I decided to come here even though I had a feeling of what you would say. I was playing truth or dare with my friends and they forced me to do it, and I can’t blame them, despite everything I feel totally free.”

Daichi smiled when he heard her. "They forced you to come and confess? What kind of friends do you have?” He asked laughing.

"Actually, they forced me to come and kiss you," She said, holding a nervous smile, to which Daichi raised both eyebrows. “Don’t look at me like that, Sawamura. You don’t give an idea of the impact you can have on someone's life." She added, making him remain surprised with the velocity with which Michimiya could finish off his nervousness with sure words. “And don’t even ask why we are playing that game, we don’t want to study.” She added, letting out a tired sigh.

Daichi understood that the girl sitting next to him was being totally honest with him, and he himself understood how difficult it could be to express his feelings and say how he felt. They had been friends since they could remember, and he didn’t want Michimiya to stop being close to him just because her feelings weren’t reciprocated since his heart was only beating for one person. He was sure of what he felt, and even more because of who he was getting excited in that way. He supposed that Michimiya felt the same way about him, and that it wasn’t right that her friends had forced her to approach only to play a game, who at that moment he gave a look to know that they would probably mock Michimiya in case they didn’t see her do what they had bet her.

Fortunately, he knew how to differentiate a kiss with meaning from an unimportant kiss.

"You can." He said.

“What?” Michimiya’s surprise reaction made Daichi laugh.

“I guess you can kiss me. I mean, I just don’t want you to have the wrong idea.”

“I know, it's just that... Do you understand the feeling of wanting to satisfy another feeling?”

Daichi nodded at the same moment that he giggled. He knew exactly how she felt.

The girl smiled sideways when she heard him laugh, and although she had gotten an answer from him, she still continued without making any movement as well as with the same blushing tone on her cheeks as she looked down. Daichi didn’t want any misunderstanding and Michimiya seemed to have understood his words, so although his thoughts and his beating heart were due to someone, he quietly rested his hands on Michimiya’s cheeks and approached her to rest his lips on hers with tenderness and softness. For both of them, the only thing that kiss meant was the closing of one stage and the beginning of another in the relationship they had.

They both smiled when they parted, and Daichi didn’t move away when Michimiya hugged him. Daichi was grateful that one of his closest friends hadn’t created a sudden discomfort among them, and he thanked himself for knowing how to handle those situations in which, without being able to foresee it, he was cornered. He was a good person, and he was clear about his feelings. He was aware that he already had a special person in his life, so he just continued to smile after kissing Michimiya and while he was hugged by her.

Without realizing that his special person to whose his true feelings belonged, had found himself at the doors of the Great Hall observing the whole situation, managing to feel anything but special. 

* * *

Both Matsukawa and Hanamaki knew that Iwaizumi was probably the most active and athletic person they knew, since although everyone played quidditch and belonged to the same team, he was the first to get up to do some laps before breakfast, so as was also the one who trained together with Kindaichi outside the official training hours. They were aware that Iwaizumi spent little time in the room because he preferred to do many activities, but at that time, they knew that he was walking from one side of the room to the other because he couldn’t stand still, although not because he was preparing to go running, but because he seemed restless and unable to remain seated.

"I feel like I’m going to explode," Iwaizumi expressed, allowing his best friends to observe each other, confirming that something was happening to him and that he wasn’t in that way just because he wanted to run or because he wanted to play quidditch but the field was occupied. And that something, was rather a who.

“Then explode.”

Matsukawa earned a blow to the head from Hanamaki, who let out a sigh before returning his gaze to the one who was extremely restless.

"Iwaizumi, I know I just hit him, but I agree with Issei," He managed to win both the attention of the one next to him and the one who still walked from one side to the other. “Repressing what you feel doesn’t do you any good. Believe me, I know from my own experience. I know you are afraid bu—”

"No buts, Hanamaki." Iwaizumi slowed to watch him. “You were lucky. You were lucky because your feelings are reciprocated. My feelings can cost me the worst mistake of my life." He added, pointing to himself.

Iwaizumi had reached his limit.

If his feelings had been at its peak before the Christmas dinner that he had passed along with Oikawa and the rest of their families, he felt that his whole person would explode should he continue to keep to himself what he really felt for the brunet that no longer left him alone while he slept. His mind only repeated the images of the Christmas night in which he had spoken again with Oikawa, and in which, moreover, he had had the opportunity to remain completely close to him, as he had always thought he would like to be. And he couldn’t contain himself anymore. He kept thinking about him, he got nervous when he was with him, which basically happened to be all the time because they always spent their time together, and his heart betrayed him whenever Oikawa hugged him. His own emotions were on the verge of throwing himself into the abyss, and for the only reason he hadn’t yet decided to deliver them, was because he had in mind the severe consequences that those could bring in case of leaving them free. He was aware of the great changes involved in confessing.

Iwaizumi was in an internal struggle with himself and had no idea what to do next.

"If Oikawa stops talking to you, we'll always be here for you." Mastsukawa put his arm around Hanamaki's shoulders.

“You know I love the both of you, but my life without him simply wouldn’t be my life.”

Hanamaki and Matsukawa remained speechless when they heard his words, since it wasn’t normal for Iwaizumi to express how he felt about their friendship, and they exchanged glances when they realized that if he couldn’t even stop to think what he was saying to them, he really must have been about to explode because the honesty inside him was screaming for him to let it out.

Iwaizumi let out an exausted sigh.

He only had two options.

To be honest, or continue to pretend.

And the second option had begun to be insufficient for him. Repressing what he felt cost him more and more, and keeping his words to himself made the accumulation of feelings grow as time passed. He wasn’t ready to be honest but he thought he would never be no matter how much time passed. He had never been so nervous, not even in his first quidditch game. He was completely anguished, and although his best friends had tried, their words hadn’t helped him to calm down and think clearly.

"I need air." Was all he said before leaving the room.

Which only managed to cause everything inside him to stop working since he ran into the boy for whom he was going crazy and was about to explode after not knowing what to do.

“What’s with you, Iwa-chan? You look worse than normal," Oikawa teased along with a smile.

His smile. Iwaizumi loved his smile.

Many times it was for simple falsehood, because Oikawa was used to making that gesture. But he could assure that every time that Oikawa had given him a smile, it had been a totally honest gesture and free of second intentions.

He passed by his side when he realized he was looking at his lips.

He had fallen in love with that smile that only appeared after expressing some comment to mock him. And Iwaizumi couldn’t deny it. He loved being bothered by him. He loved Oikawa looking for him all the time even if it was only to tease him. He loved that he wanted to spend his days with him and that he would be close to him even if he only did it to continue bothering him. He loved everything about him. His vain smile, his proud attitude, his haughty personality, and his goofy side.

“Iwa-chan? Are you okay?”

And he loved that despite having an extremely fun side, Oikawa could also care about him honestly. He loved knowing that no matter what happened to him or what it was about, he could trust that he would be there to help him and talk about what was necessary. He loved knowing that Oikawa was a person who was looking to help his loved ones to also be able to help himself too. He loved the part of him that could become a beast in case someone he wanted was hurt. He loved that he was a person in whom he could rest his confidence and his worries.

He simply adored Oikawa, and that was the simple truth.

He knew the consequences, and finally decided that he was willing to deal with them.

Oikawa rested his brown eyes on him when Iwaizumi turned to face him.

But besides knowing that the truth was that he adored Oikawa, he also knew that reality was that he would never feel completely prepared to confess what he felt no matter at what moment it was. He was sure that he had already tired Hanamaki and Matsukawa with his attitudes, with his own confusion and the internal battle he continued to sustain. He had told them that he didn’t want to lose Oikawa, but he also knew that he didn’t want to lose himself, since continuing to gather emotions within him was only making his situation worse. So he didn't hesitate to hold Oikawa's gaze, and finally decided.

“I like you.”

Multiple times he had imagined himself expressing those words, projecting, thinking of himself regretting doing it. But all those scenarios left his head when he felt that the enormous weight he had borne on his shoulders finally disappeared. He had been right in thinking that he would never be ready for that moment, and found that although he had just done it, he still wasn’t ready because he lowered his gaze, which in a certain way allowed him to avoid the notorious silence that reigned between both. Finally he had said it. He had managed to be honest and not to collapse in the process. He had overcome his worst fear, and although he was still nervous, a part of him felt completely grateful that he had done it.

"I like you too." He heard, and held a sad smile before looking up again.

“No, Oikawa, you don’t understand, I like you in another way.” He explained, “And I know. You don’t feel the same." Iwaizumi added without needing the other to say something.

More times than he could count, he had known that being honest didn’t mean getting a good reward, so having imagined that situation so many times and having let that image repeat itself incessantly, managed that even though that time it was the real one staging, it hurt less. He was sad, but having been there for so long, compensated for the disappointment of the moment.

However, he wasn’t ready to finally breaking, so he decided to leave, but suddenly a hand held him by the arm to not allow him to move forward.

“Don’t put words I haven’t said in my mouth. You can’t say something like that and leave.”

Despite the situation, Iwaizumi smiled sideways.

Of course he could. It were his feelings after all.

“I rather face the shame alone. I just wanted to tell you what I feel." He said.

“To be who always says I’m stupid, you are the stupidest.”

Oikawa was the one who smiled when he finally managed to get Iwaizumi to rest his green eyes on him again. He surprised him and glimpsed the stupefaction on his face as he pulled him close to him, and clasped his hands behind his neck as he continued to take advantage of the way his gaze focused on him and not on the ground.

"Don’t make fun of me." Iwaizumi expressed, because although he liked him, that didn’t imply that he would accept being mocked by himself. But Oikawa's smile only increased. "I warn you." He added.

"Stop threatening me, Iwa-chan." Oikawa said, acting as if he had only told him that he wanted them to practice quidditch for a while instead of what he really felt for him. “I told you. I like you too. And yes, also in another way.”

Iwaizumi knew that he had the advantage of knowing him. He knew how he worked with people, how he acted in front of someone he didn’t like, how he behaved when he was close to someone he liked. He knew how to distinguish his false smiles from his honest ones, and although it still cost him, he had learned to recognize when he was serious and when not, so when he learned that while Oikawa was using his own charm in his favor, at the time he wasn’t playing with him as well as not behaving in that way to have fun, so Iwaizumi decided to surround his waist with his arms when the brunet didn’t seem to want to let go or be talking as a joke.

The two looked at each other for a long time. Iwaizumi with his eyes narrowed because he wanted to make sure that Oikawa wasn’t performing one of his jokes as well as taking the moment as something funny, since if there was something that would hurt him more than the fact that Oikawa didn’t correspond his feelings, it would be that he opted to laugh at him for his emotions. Still not trusting, he looked at him, wanting to check that Oikawa wasn't laughing at him. But as soon as Oikawa simply observed him with a sincere smile on his face, which showed nothing but pure joy and calm, he finally allowed the green of his eyes to stop being suspicious.

"Then you like me," Iwaizumi said, and when Oikawa nodded, he couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from rising to indicate the start of a smile. He had imagined himself ending the friendship between them, turning the relationship between them into something awkward. He hadn't expected to utter those words that assured him that his feelings were reciprocated by who he considered to be the most important person in his life. “And why did you make me be the one to confess?”

"You know me, Iwa-chan. Did you really expect me to say something before you?”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes when he heard him, remembering that he was talking to someone who always wanted to get attention and in no way agreed to be the one who confessed first. But then he allowed a smile to appear on his face when Oikawa gave him his best smile, which only led him to slide his gaze to his lips.

Now that he knew that smile was totally sincere when it came to him, and that his feelings were reciprocated as he wanted, there was nothing he wanted to do more than try those lips that drew the gesture he most liked to see. Slowly the two began to eliminate any distance between them, but the environment that had been created only for the two of them, suddenly was interrupted when the two stopped being focused on each other after they sighted and heard Suga running near them.

And although the two again shared a look because a new desire had begun to grow between them, they didn’t hesitate to separate and quickly run after Suga when they were sure that what they had seen sliding down his cheeks turned out to be tears.

And not from happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Indicated words can cause problems.


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo 50 chapters already. Thank you a lot for reading and giving this story a chance. I really appreciate all the comments, kudos, and hits. There are still many more chapters left, and again, sorry for all the mistakes I have because I handle english as I can. Thank you very much!! And as always: Hurrah Haikyuu! Hurrah Harry Potter!

Yaku looked at both sides of the hall before being the last to leave the classroom in which he had just had his last class of the day, and after he didn’t see a grayish hair that stood out among the other heads, he started walking like the rest of the students without being able to avoid feeling guilty for what he was doing. He was aware that avoiding Lev wouldn’t help him at all, but he preferred to keep hiding from him rather than meet him suddenly and confront that they had actually kissed and the contact between them hadn’t been the product of his imagination, because although the idea of rejoining his lips with his made him want to go out in his search, his rational part told him to keep hiding if he didn’t want to suffer once he graduated and Lev stayed at Hogwarts.

He had already tasted what he had wanted so badly, and now he had to settle and be satisfied with the sensation that the Hufflepuff’s lips on his had provoked him. He saw himself smiling as he walked, remembering the closeness he had maintained with Lev, and realized he hadn’t been staying alert. He looked around worriedly, and as he didn’t notice any change, he kept walking, hoping to arrive soon to the common room of his house where he could go from one place to the other no matter whom he crossed, but suddenly he felt someone tugged at him by his arm, and before he could foresee it, he found himself lying on the floor in a very small space.

With Lev too close to him.

The nerves attacked him mercilessly when he saw a big smile on the fifth-year's face that had made both fall to the floor and quickly stop finding themselves in the hallway. He noticed that they were somewhere that couldn’t even be called a room because it was the place where brooms were to be cleaned and spare ones to play quidditch, so it turned out to be an extremely tiny space. And the fact that it was barely illuminated, and that Lev's face was just inches away from his, as well as his hand still clinging to his arm while one of his knees was between Lev's legs, managed to make Yaku feel an intense heat in his cheeks, so he quickly moved away as much as he could from him, although it wasn’t much considering where they were. He released himself from his grip before leaning his back against the wall, sitting with his knees bent while Lev continued to sit in front of him.

Neither of them said a word. Yaku because he was still processing that for his own fault he was in that situation that he had so avoided, and Lev because he didn’t mind being silent while being with him, since he had learned that although he liked to speak, for Yaku he was able to remain silent so that the other could enjoy his company.

“Why aren’t you upset with me?”

The seventh-year was finally the one to speak first.

He didn’t understand why Lev was watching him with a big goofy smile on his face when he should have been glaring at him or frowning, since he had practically taken advantage of the winter break and the recent start of classes to disappear after they had kissed.

“Why would I be upset?” He asked confused.

“Well... basically we don’t see each other since... you know...”

“And why would I be upset?” Lev repeated, and Yaku was the disoriented one on that occasion. “During the holidays everyone was with their family, Yaku-san. And until now I didn’t want to bother you because I understood that if I bother you while you study then we won’t be able to spend time together if you have homework to do, so I only approached because I saw you smiling and thought you were free.” 

Yaku couldn’t help but smile when he realized how innocent Lev was. Because while he had been purposely avoiding him because his thoughts didn’t leave him alone, Lev had stayed away from him so that in the long run it would be beneficial for both of them. While he had been hiding, Lev, who had always approached him with a foolish excuse and regardless of whether he was immersed in his books, had chosen not to approach so that he could study and thus be able to spend time with him later.

Did he really want to continue spending time away from him?

"Lev."

“What is it?”

“Thanks for being you.”

Anyone would have noticed that he was deliberately staying away, so he really appreciated that Lev wasn’t like everyone else and always thought positively. The gray-haired one smiled enthusiastically when he heard him, and the smile that Yaku had begun to sketch disappeared when he noticed that the fifth-year approached him.

“Can we kiss again?” Lev asked, sitting a few inches away. Yaku opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted when Lev continued speaking, “If you asked, I also have to ask. You're not upset with me, are you? Because I promise that the fact that our houses are the next to face doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue kissing you. We don’t have to stay away from each other just because Ravenclaw and Slytherin don’t get along, right?”

Yaku interrupted him when his last words caught his attention.

“Ravenclaw and Slytherin?” He asked him.

“Yes, because of what happened with Futakuchi-san and Kunimi.”

Yaku arched an eyebrow realizing that Lev's honesty and awkwardness were the ones on talking, and promptly forgot his nerves when they were replaced with confusion and intrigue.

"Ah, yeah, with what happened with them," He said purposefully instead of asking a question.

“I know, but we don’t have to not get along just because Futakuchi-san bewitched Kunimi, right? Because our houses are different.”

Yaku was grateful that they were basically in the dark so that the other present wouldn’t notice the astonishment on his face, as he had expected him to mention that there had been some kind of altercation or some fight about which he hadn’t heard, but apparently there had been magic in the middle and perhaps the rivalry with Gryffindor had happened to be in the background for Ravenclaw to take its place as an enemy house.

Futakuchi had bewitched Kunimi?

How was it that Lev knew?

Daichi knew it and had chosen not to tell him?

Yaku realized that he had been silent for a long time after formulating questions in his head that needed urgent answers, because he heard the other talk to him.

“Yaku-san, we are okay, right?”

The aforementioned knew that although Lev had just made a mistake after mentioning all the above words with confidence assuming he knew about the matter, he wasn’t clumsy as not realizing that perhaps he didn’t know and therefore had committed a mistake after talking about what happened, but Yaku didn’t allow him to begin to do that kind of questioning after deciding to distract him by joining his mouth to his.

He had avoided him and had just kissed him to distract him, but in any case he quickly felt that his thoughts stopped focusing on what he had just heard when those focused on repeating that he could have distracted Lev in another way, that he would only hurt himself if he continued to eliminate the distance with the fifth-year in that way, that he wouldn’t be blinded by what his body wanted and that he would pay attention to his rational part, the one that had made him stay away from him until then, hiding both of Lev as also fleeing his own feelings. But Lev's hands on his cheeks kept quiet all the voices that kept repeating that what he was doing was wrong, and that he would only get hurt once he understood that time didn’t last forever.

Yaku continued to fight with himself while also trying to focus on the person he was with instead of the fight between the houses he had heard about, because if there was something that was clear to him, was that sooner or later, somehow everyone knew everything that happened at Hogwarts, whether by mistake, by misunderstanding, or intentionally. The words traveled in the corridors to later enter the common rooms and then the rooms, where words continued to spread to add more talk about some subject.

And while Yaku turned out to be part of the pile that found out about things because he listened to the indicated words, the pair of seventh-year friends, one of whom was leading one of the teams in the dilemma that seemed not to come to an end, at that moment was with half of his body on the body of the other who was with him. Both sitting at one of the tables at the Great Hall, also founding themselves doubting, though not of their own feelings, but of those people for whom they felt them.

Bokuto was with his arms resting on the table while keeping his cheek on his hands, wondering why the doubts had begun to attack him when he had never had such problems related to trust before, while Kuroo was resting on the same way on his best friend’s back and head, the two carrying decayed expressions in their faces, since the reason for their attitudes was the same: Ravenclaw’s sixth-year boys.

Bokuto knew that he had madly fallen in love with Akaashi, whom he hadn’t hesitated to approach after they had faced each other in the Quidditch field once their houses crashed and Hufflepuff won, as he had been afraid that Akaashi would stop talking to him only because Ravenclaw had lost, so he was surprised when that serious expression continued to be part of his life even if they had faced each other in a game, because although Bokuto expressed his feelings without any problem, he also used to allow insecurities to attack him suddenly and without any logical explanation. He was depressed by the smallest of details, and a small action could trigger a series of days in which his hair seemed to deflate, his motivated and cheerful attitude was replaced by a quiet and decayed one, and his friendly tone of voice ceased to exist after being transformed into a lasting silence. Being cheerful most of the time didn’t prevent him from having bad days too, and since he had met Akaashi, the same had been the only one to seem to be able to make him come back to his usual personality no matter if they had different ages, were in different houses, and therefore in different teams.

And as at that moment, he was in one of his days where the sky was completely gray and he didn’t want everyone to focus their attention on him, and the only reason was that boy who usually made him smile and not enter in those melancholy states. He couldn’t deny that he was extremely happy because he had discovered that his feelings seemed to be reciprocated by Akaashi, since every time he had kissed him with intensity he had made it clear. But for a person like him, who was always expressing his feelings no matter how direct it was, that fact that Akaashi didn’t do the same, had begun to raise a series of questions on his head. Their lips met with generality as their bodies sought to be as close as possible when they were together, but the fact that he was the only one who mentioned how much he loved him without receiving a similar response in return, had made Bokuto replace that happiness by an emotional questioning. He had never had that problem because Akaashi had never seemed interested in him in that way, but since they had kissed, he had begun to wonder if his feelings were truly reciprocated, or just imagined.

He had always been able to read Akaashi without any problem and had never needed him to assure him something, but when his feelings were those in the middle, the doubts only managed to question everything around him, so he let out a sigh and then formed a remarkable pout with his lips. When his worries were those in excelling, and making him wonder if Akaashi really felt the same about him or just liked to kiss and hug him, he wondered how sure he was of the changes they had made and carried out in the relationship between them both.

For his part, the one who was with half his body on top of his, didn’t stop repeating the winter break in his head, especially the Christmas dinner that had turned out to be the opposite of a cheerful and warm night. Kuroo couldn’t stop thinking about all the words he had said to Kenma, in the way he had expressed them, and in the cry he had heard later. He wasn’t sorry for what he had said since he had been totally sincere and had wanted to be since the sixth-year seemed to have distanced himself from him. And even though he didn’t wait for Kenma to thank him for being extremely honest and show his point of view, he didn’t expect that he seemed obsessive with the idea of avoiding him at every opportunity and getting away from him as quickly as possible even though he didn’t even have where to go. He had left, since he had barely crossed paths with him since the winter break was over, and every time he had met him, he had seen Kenma go down another corridor or up steps, even if he didn’t have to go in that direction. Kenma had made it clear that as long as he could avoid him, he would do it no matter what he had to do around the castle to get to his classes or the common room of his house. Kenma no longer approached him silently as he had during the night of the storm to assure him that although he didn’t express it in words, he still trusted him. Again he had been fascinated with the idea of staying as far away as possible from him, so Kuroo could only ask himself why he scared him away from himself when he just wanted the opposite. He wanted Kenma to be with him, to rest his trust in him and not be afraid to approach for fear of getting hurt. But the seventh-year felt he was cursed, because as he had expressed during the Christmas night, while all he did was love him, apparently all he could do was hurt him.

The pair of seventh-year friends had camouflaged each other to feel downcast. It was normal to see them joking with each other, hugging each other and talking in laughter, but there were times when even they felt it wasn’t the right day because their thoughts and emotions didn’t leave them alone, because thinking was equal to torture, and feeling seemed to be the worst.

"I don’t understand." Bokuto suddenly murmured, breaking the silence between them.

“What you don’t understand?”

Kuroo would have made a funny or ironic comment if he had been in the mood.

“Why he never tells me he loves me. I tell him all the time.” The Slytherin didn’t need to hear the name of the person his best friend was talking about to know who he was referring to. "Maybe telling him all the time has made it lose its meaning." Bokuto added.

Kuroo was surprised to hear him, and for the first time in the whole afternoon, he separated from him to observe him impressed. "I don’t think you should stop telling him you love him." He told him, and Bokuto stopped remaining semi-reclined on the table and sat up to look at him. “I think the more you tell him, the more confident he will feel to be able to tell you.”

“Then why doesn’t he? I tell him every day, all hours, all the time, every chance I can.”

“We aren’t all like you, Bo. Not everyone can express our feelings like you.”

The Hufflepuff formed a pout with his lips. He didn’t understand what was so difficult. Saying what he felt wasn’t complicated. He only let the words reflect what he thought and what he felt because he thought that being honest was extremely important, and that keeping emotions for oneself only caused harm. He didn’t understand why Akaashi didn’t tell him what he felt for him when he always did, when he always made it clear that he was the only person he wanted at his side, that he was the only person he wanted to kiss and spend all his time speaking, walking, playing Quidditch even if they were in different teams and only faced each other in the field, holding each other, or sleeping together. He always reminded Akaashi why he loved him and why his feelings only belonged to him.

But if his words weren’t enough, then what could he do?

Kuroo suddenly worried when the expression that had been characterizing his best friend over the past few days, was replaced by his usual enthusiastic smile.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked him slightly concerned.

He was used to Bokuto’s mood swings, but he knew when it came to Akaashi, he couldn’t do anything but feel worried.

“What if Akaashi needs more than my words?”

“Something like what?”

“I don’t know. He only approached me after being affected by the Amortentia.”

“Remember that he was pretending to be under the Amortentia.”

“He approached me pretending. So, what would happen if he really took it?”

Kuroo raised an eyebrow as soon as he heard him. "You forget about that right now." He expressed replacing his sad expression with a serious one. “Akaashi loves you, and he doesn’t need to drink Amortentia to have feelings for you. He already does.”

“How do you know? He never says it.”

“But he shows you.”

Kuroo realized how much he envied Bokuto, since at least the sixth-year boy for whom his best friend had fallen, showed him that he wanted him in his life, while Kenma ran away from him without hesitation.

"Then maybe he needs something that makes him say it, not show it.” Kuroo couldn’t stop his best friend from holding a new idea in his head. “Veritaserum!” He exclaimed smiling.

“That potion forces you to be honest, Bokuto. If Akaashi doesn’t love you and you ask him, would you like to hear the answer?”

“Are you saying that Akaashi doesn’t love me?”

Kuroo didn’t hesitate to look at him seriously.

The potion that his best friend had mentioned was a potent serum that could force the drinker to respond with sincerity to any question, and he was aware that Bokuto's head and the idea of using that potion weren’t a good combination, so he didn’t doubt to be extremely direct with him.

"Listen to me well." He started, “You forget the idea of giving Akaashi something like that.”

Bokuto watched him.

“If you want to know how he feels about you, then you ask him. You don’t force him to drink something that will make him answer with sincerity or something that makes him believe that he is obsessed with you. Believe me when I tell you, that boy loves you. You don’t need to give him anything to know what he really feels for you. If you do anything that includes potions, I'll be really mad at you, Bokuto. And we both know you don’t want that. Have you understood me?”

Bokuto knew that his best friend had talked seriously because he was scared when Kuroo held a very serious expression, used an incredibly grave tone of voice that only surfaced when he was upset, and referred to him by his full surname instead of an abbreviation. So he nodded quickly, although that didn’t prevent Kuroo from reassuring himself because he knew his best friend perfectly, and if an idea appeared in his head, then it was difficult to take it off, which was why he decided he would remain attentive during the following days until the idea of forcing Akaashi to do or say something finally left his head. But he also knew that Bokuto had never had doubts about what Akaashi felt for him, and that they seemed to have arisen after the winter break had passed, which at that time led him to watch him.

"Bo," The aforementioned looked at him when he heard him, "Anything you want to tell me about the winter break?" He asked him, and knew the answer to his question when ironically, instead of answering, Bokuto began to look at the table seriously.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He replied in a murmur.

Kuroo only worried more, because if what he thought was true, then Bokuto's parents were the ones who had managed to start making him have doubts about Akaashi, and therefore, the same in getting Bokuto to think in a way that wasn't characteristic of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A perfect assistance training doesn't guarantee an united team.


	51. Chapter 51

“What were you thinking?”

Kuroo exhaled a deep breath of air hoping that his patience wouldn’t leave him, because although he would always be willing to listen to any of his players who wanted to talk to him about quidditch or any subject they wanted, and much more to that in front of him considering that he was the vice-captain of the team since it was the duty of both to agree so that the team could reach its maximum position, that day he wasn’t ready to deal with Oikawa knowing that he had to stay focused on another of the people close to him, in whom he had decided to watch over so that he wouldn’t make a serious mistake.

Or at least that was what he had tried to do until the brunet made him stop following Bokuto in a disguised way, to interrupt his path and observe him with an arched eyebrow and his arms crossed, making it clear that he had been looking for him.

“Oikawa, we'll talk about this but I really can’t now.”

He tried to get rid of him but knew it was too late to recover his best friend’s trace when the aforementioned didn’t run from him and continued to watch him seriously, having uncrossed his arms to pose his hands on the sides of his waist.

"We'll talk about this now." Oikawa determined, finally gaining his attention since Kuroo wasn’t used to hearing him speak with that tone of voice free of any joke that always characterized him. "What were you thinking? Why didn’t you talk to me before deciding? I am your vice-captain. I thought we had agreed that we would trust each other to keep the team afloat.”

"Of course I trust you." Kuroo assured him.

"Then why didn’t you talk to me before deciding to call Mad Dog-chan to come back to the team?” He asked him, “Do you have any idea what you have done?”

The two locked eyes. Oikawa looked at him reproaching him for not having consulted the decision to incorporate a new player into their ranks since that was what he should have done because although he was the captain, he was the vice-captain and was supposed to know everything so they could agree to choose the best for the team, while Kuroo observed him feeling baffled because Oikawa had pointed at him without even giving him the opportunity to tell him that his decision had only been carried out because he thought it was a good step for the team, and not because he took advantage of his position as captain to do what he wanted with that power. The two stared at each other, until the golden eyes of the taller one focused on the person he saw approaching them at a determined pace and with an evident expression of discontent and fury in his face from which he was only saved, because Oikawa realized that he wasn’t paying attention to him anymore and turned around just in time to prevent Futakuchi from hesitating to face the one who ended up behind him.

“In the next game I will throw you away from your broom and I won’t even care to catch the stupid snitch!”

Maybe Oikawa had placed himself in front of him to keep him from lashing out at the black-haired one who had been protected behind him, but he hadn’t been able to prevent Futakuchi from pointing Kuroo out as well as allowing his angry expression to be even more visible in his words.

"It didn’t seem to matter to you in the first game either, did it?”

Oikawa held Futakuchi by his shoulders to prevent him from hesitating to try to pass over him to make his fists meet the face of the one who had spoken, and whom the brunet saw when he turned his head with a frown pucker.

“Really, Kuroo?” He asked, knowing that it wasn’t the time to add more problems to the obvious situation they already had under their hands, and then turned his head to rest his sight on the sixth-year who stopped trying to put him aside when he understood that he would be the one getting away if he kept trying.

“He trusted you!” Futakuchi exclaimed, having moved away from Oikawa so that he would stop holding his hands on his shoulders, and took advantage of the fact that he had freed himself to move a few centimeters away from both of them. “Yahaba trusted the both of you and even got me to trust you as team leaders. And the first thing you do is incorporate Kyoutani to the team? Seriously?”

"I had nothing to do with it." Oikawa said.

“Oh great! Now I fucking hate only you again!” He pointed at Kuroo, “You know the kind of relationship they had. You know it, Oikawa knows it, I know it, we all know it. We were all present when last year he left the team and destroyed my best friend in the process. And you didn’t even care? Yahaba decided to trust you again, and this is how you show him that he can do it?”

"A lot of time has passed since last year." Kuroo expressed before the sixth-year continued asking questions that made no sense to him. “And I don’t think that having chosen Kyoutani to rejoin the team is a bad decision. We need a good team, and we all know that he is a good player, despite how problematic he can be at times. We all want the same, for the team to be good.”

"A good captain doesn’t think about the team." Futakuchi stated, standing at the same distance from them, having stopped moving from side to side to remain still and be watched by the seventh-years whose attention he had called even more with those words. “A good captain thinks of the players that make up the team. Yeah, Kyoutani is a good player just like everyone else in the team. And? Only that's why you decided not to take into account how one of your players would feel about that incorporation? You saw him! You saw the panic attack Yahaba had just for seeing him, and you too!” He added, resting his eyes on Oikawa, “Maybe you weren’t the one who made the decision, but you didn’t complain about it? Knowing how much Yahaba looks up to you and trusts you?”

"I was about to do it when you decided to interrupt us."

“Forgive me for doing it!” Futakuchi expressed with total sarcasm and leaving a hand in his own chest, “I don’t give a damn shit you were about to talk about it, you could have worried about Yahaba and come up with some excuse to leave the training with him, or you could have approached him to talk to him instead of getting on your broom, because guess what? Ten minutes of exercise on land is not enough." He said, and then turned his eyes on Kuroo, “And you also saw how he reacted, and you gave yourself the luxury of being the first to get on your broom! You're the damn captain! And you the vice-captain!” He again rested his eyes on Oikawa to finally intersperse his gaze between them. “The only reason why I don’t quit this stupid team is because my best friend is part of it and I don’t plan to leave him alone. Put me as substitute, replace me, don’t let me play in all that remains of the damn tournament, do whatever the fuck you want. But if my best friend still suffers for the decisions that you both take without knowing what the other is doing and how you should know since you are supposedly captain and vice-captain of the team, then know that seeing me angry and hearing what I have to say will be the least of your problems.”

Futakuchi gave them a last look of repudiation before returning for where he had appeared, the intensity of his steps being the same, making anyone who was close to him, decided to run on their own accord before leaving the chance that he chose to vent his anger with them even if he had finished doing it with the two people whose anger he had addressed to, and who once again were alone, stared at each other.

“Don’t look at me like that. I can’t kick Kyoutani out. It would be unfair to him. And I don’t want to do it either." Kuroo determined, crossing his arms when Oikawa did the same.

“You sacrificed the fact that two players who we still don’t know why at first didn’t trust us without having some apparent reason, now have reasons not to listen to us or let us guide them. Are you happy about that? Don’t get me wrong, I think Kenji-chan just put us both in our place, not just you. Because he's right, I could have done more to keep Shigeru-chan from feeling the way he did and I didn’t. But you are the one who made the decision. Yes, I agree that it wouldn’t be fair to kick Mad Dog-chan, but I also disagree that it's fair to Shigeru-chan.”

“And now what do you expect me to do?”

"Us to do." Oikawa corrected him. “You heard him. It's our fault. And now we must deal with what you decided and I let happen.”

The two continued to stare at each other.

They sought to be good leaders as well as gain the confidence of all the players on the team. They longed for others to trust them when they couldn’t even agree to trust each other. They wanted to be accepted when their own players didn’t accept each other. Each time they were more immersed in the tournament, and with more problems in the team they coordinated, since the matches would continue taking place no matter that they still didn’t feel they were the leaders of a real team instead of only a group of players that didn’t trust in each other as well as in them. It was true that they would never act in a manner similar to that of a tyrant and that the least they sought was to exercise a hierarchy, but reality was that their decisions were only making players want to distance themselves from them instead of allowing them to guide them in the search for the title of the championship.

Kuroo let out a sigh, but then didn't hesitate to turn around to leave, since he had too many problems, the frustration was beginning to control him, and what he least needed was for all the problems in his life to start to mix with each other.

"Hey, wait." Oikawa hurried to catch up and then make him slow down after staying in front of him. “Just tell me what’s going on.” He said, since although he had approached him to talk about the first training they had had after the winter break, he had also done so for other reasons, assuring Kuroo that there was no way his problems would remain each by its side. “You've been weird since the winter break.” Oikawa added, because just as they were the leaders of the same team and could argue about it, they were still best friends.

"Weird." Kuroo repeated along with a fake giggle. “I wish I was weird, but in fact, I can't do anything right. Anything!” He exclaimed frustrated before passing by his side and hurrying so that Oikawa wouldn't follow him.

Kenma's distance in his life stalked him and the problems in his team only continued to grow. He hadn't expected everything to improve when he returned to classes, but he hadn't expected the weight on his shoulders to continue expanding either.

He knew it would be a matter of time before the students of his house mentioned his name again when conversations about the quidditch team surfaced. He didn’t doubt that the people in his team had patience as well as a great affection for him because otherwise they would have allowed Kyoutani's presence and what happened with Yahaba to cause more problems instead of remaining silent, hoping that in the long run, the changes in the team would be beneficial. He trusted that his friends would respect his decisions both because he was the captain and because he was close to them, but he also knew that he only made his players want to remain as part of the team not because they liked it, but because they found reasons for the green and silver colors to do it, because while Futakuchi had assured that he would remain in order to defend his best friend, one of the main reasons for which Yahaba had decided to come back, was the boy he saw sitting in one of the inner garden's benches.

Much of the snow that covered the surroundings and the towers of Hogwarts had disappeared as well as the string of days characterized by snow and bad weather, although that didn’t take away that there were days when it was preferable to stay inside the castle or that it was inevitable that the Quidditch field couldn’t be used. But the cold had diminished although they were still in winter, so more students had begun to walk through the corridors next to the interior gardens instead of walking through the interior halls, taking advantage of the fact that the cold had stopped being intolerable.

Yahaba rubbed his hands before approaching the one he saw sitting in one of the interior garden’s benches that was no longer as empty as during the previous month, and on that occasion he decided to tell him that he was no longer alone after tugging the tip of his blue and gray striped scarf, to which Ennoshita reacted by coughing at the slight pressure he felt in his throat, making the Slytherin giggled before sitting beside him as he was watched with narrowed eyes by the one with black hair.

"Always illuminating my days with your precious presence." Ennoshita mentioned, turning his attention to the book he had opened in his lap.

Before speaking in the same ironic way, Yahaba glanced at the pages to verify that he had already done the reading for the class they had the next day. “Your downcast face shows that you need my presence.” He said after having taken a look at his face that was serious but not because of the concentration that reading implied, which he confirmed when Ennoshita looked at him with wide eyes.

“Did we spend so much time together that you're already beginning to read me?”

Yahaba arched an eyebrow at the same time he smiled sideways.

“Then you are feeling down.”

The Ravenclaw wrinkled his nose when he realized that he should be more careful with the words he said when he was with him, and he simply shrugged before refocusing on his book, while Yahaba adjusted his own scarf around his neck.

"Don’t worry, I assure you, you can’t be worse than me." He added.

And he instantly grimaced in disgust when he realized that he had only uttered those words so that Ennoshita had something to distract himself from instead of pretending to read the book in his lap while internally he thought about the reasons why he didn’t smile.

“We won’t begin to discuss who has the saddest life, right?”

"I know you so my life is sadder." Yahaba answered.

"Touché." Ennoshita finally closed his book and sat on his side to chat with him. “And? Why do you assure me that I can’t be worse than you?”

Yahaba raised an eyebrow at the sound of his words.

“You are not worried about me, right?”

His own concern wasn’t that Ennoshita hadn’t been sarcastic, but that he really cared honestly about him, and the Ravenclaw giggled when he heard him and glimpsed his grimace of displeasure.

“It is my duty as your special annoyer to know if there is someone else bothering you. I can’t let someone else take my place in your life." He expressed, making himself sound incredibly serious, as if it was real business what they were talking about, and he smiled internally as he glimpsed a small smile on Yahaba's face.

“I can say the same. If someone is bothering you, then I'll have to duplicate my work."

“Why do people seem obsessed with bothering us?”

Yahaba put his hands in the pockets of his pants before shrugging.

It was evident that none of them wanted to say a word about what made them feel fatigued and a bad feeling in general that involved their whole bodies as well as their thoughts and emotions, because despite the fact that since the beginning of the school year the relationship between them little by little had been becoming a friendship, the conversations between them continued to be based on a round trip of sarcastic comments, ironic words, and an odd good action every so often. But they weren’t yet ready to hold a serious conversation, so they would never know that what was bothering the both of them was the same.

And not a what. But a who.

A sixth-year boy.

Because while Ennoshita didn’t stop blaming himself for letting his heart break whenever he allowed his hopes to increase with respect to Tanaka, Yahaba continued with his thoughts totally wrapped in the idea of getting used to Kyoutani seemed to have decided to be part of his life although during the last months he had done the opposite.

It didn’t bother them to remain silent, each one thinking about the person who disturbed them. Ennoshita took the opportunity to observe Yahaba in a disguised way and think that he really was right, because although his own feelings betrayed him when it came to Tanaka, the Slytherin seemed to be going through something much more serious than a problem with his own emotions. The smile that appeared on Yahaba’s face for the amusement on teasing him had only shown itself momentarily, and the expression of superiority that always accompanied him had barely been noticed. Ennoshita even came to think that Yahaba approached him to distract himself from whatever was keeping him occupied with afflicted thoughts, so he opened his mouth, only to be interrupted.

And not for Yahaba.

“Is he bothering you?”

His eyebrows went up on their own when he recognized the boy who stood in front of them both. For him, Kyoutani Kentarou was easily recognizable not only because of his peculiar hair dyed blond that had two black lines that showed his original color and ran horizontally from one side to the other of his head, nor by his fierce look that made anyone to want to run away from him. But because he was also extremely hostile, had a complicated attitude in which it was clear that he didn’t respect any of the students who were older than him, because he was irritant no matter what time of the year he crossed paths with him, and because the previous year they had faced each other during the match that involved their houses. Ennoshita hadn’t been an official player but the other one did by a little time, so he could observe the brazen way in which he developed without caring about the effort of the others on his team. His mere presence caused him rejection, and he considered himself fortunate to have been so long without crossing him, which made him wonder if the different attitude of the one sitting next to him had to do with Kyoutani’s sudden presence, until he didn’t need to continue thinking about it because Yahaba's reaction was enough to tie the head of the theory in a matter of seconds.

The Slytherin sitting next to him didn’t hesitate to look the other way when he was just as surprised as he was by Kyoutani’s presence, but unlike Ennoshita, he rolled his eyes and seemed to want to disappear from there after tilting his head. He made it clear that the least he wanted to happen was happening at that precise moment, while for his part, instead of getting annoyed by Kyoutani’s accusatory question, Ennoshita continued with his gaze on Yahaba.

"No, he's not bothering me." Yahaba answered.

The Ravenclaw peered at Kyoutani at the same time that he looked at him with narrowed eyes, and he would had used that moment to smile in an entertaining way and release some comment that bothered them both, but he didn’t because he noticed that Yahaba was already annoyed with the situation. So instead of that, he looked for the simplest exit.

“Do you want me to leave?” He asked.

"Yes." Kyoutani replied.

“No.” Yahaba said.

The last to speak finally confronted the other when he rested his gaze on him.

He watched Kyoutani with a frown, and Ennoshita could swear, that although his task had always been to bother Yahaba and thus get the worst out of him no matter how much he had bothered him, he had never earned that irritated look of his part, which continued assuring him that the newcomer was the one who had made Yahaba guarantee him that he couldn’t be worse than him.

“Can you leave?”

Anyone would have thought that Yahaba was addressing Ennoshita, but reality didn’t turn out to be that. The Ravenclaw was beginning to feel the intense tension that was starting to come to life in front of his own eyes, because even if it was for different reasons, the two Slytherins seemed to be extremely tense and obsessed with the idea of not being the first to soften the serious expression that characterized them both.

“Can we talk?” Kyoutani asked instead.

Although Yahaba continued with his hands inside his pockets, Ennoshita noticed how those closed in fists as well as when he swallowed heavily. He still couldn’t say what kind of relationship he had with him, nor could he say how close they were, but what he did know was that he had spoken seriously about having told Yahaba that he really wanted to be the only person to bother him, so he didn’t hesitate to pose his gaze on the other boy.

“Hey, Kyoutani,” He said.

“What the hell do you want?”

Ennoshita seemed to mutter something, and Yahaba stopped keeping his eyes on the ground and opened the same like two large plates when suddenly Kyoutani fell on the grass that was just growing. Remaining motionless and with his eyes closed, managing to get other students turn around.

"Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him." Ennoshita expressed, catching a glimpse of the impression on Yahaba’s face, who had begun to feel his gaze between him and the one lying unconscious next to them. “Desmaius. I still don’t fully master it, so I only manage to temporarily stun when I do it without a wand and verbally. And for that very reason," He kept the book to his chest before getting up, “I'll disappear before he kills me because I know he's capable of." He glanced at Kyoutani for a moment, and then rested his eyes on Yahaba. “I speak seriously when I say that you already have to put up with me bothering you all the time. So don’t let other people do it.”

That was his way of telling him not to let Kyoutani bother him even without knowing what was going on between them so that Yahaba was extremely tense and seemed more annoyed than ever, even more so than when he was with him. He didn’t add anything else before leaving, and left Yahaba deep in thought, though focused on the boy lying beside him.

Ennoshita walked away, feeling nothing but anger.

Although not only because at the end of the day his reading had been interrupted as well as his moment of being able to enjoy annoying Yahaba, but also because he realized that compared to the Slytherin, he had no reason to be bothered with something so tiny as was what he felt for Tanaka when it had become clear to him that other people could be worse than him. He was angry with himself because he understood that he was annoyed by small details that he shouldn’t allow them to bother him, but that they did anyway. He was irritated because he allowed his emotional part to beat his rational part that told him not to be affected by something as unimportant as his feelings. Lately he felt more than he thought, and he was angry for letting his own self play with himself.

He was completely annoyed, and colliding with someone didn’t help his patience to diminish further, although after realizing that the one he had suddenly met was Kuroo, and after hearing why he seemed to be desperate enough to even be willing to collide with people while running through the corridors, he didn’t hesitate to put aside all the anger that had eaten him up so far to run.

That day of the week he knew that one of his roommates chose to spend his afternoon at the Great Hall because an annoying group of noisy third-year boys were in the library to chat more than to study, so those days he changed of place to concentrate, reason that explained why he didn’t doubt to go to that place as quickly as possible.

His eyes landed on the table of his house as soon as he reached it.

And he spotted Akaashi.

As well as Bokuto.

The second of them giving him a glass with an orange liquid that the other accepted.

Ennoshita never went from one place to the other so fast, and didn’t doubt to take the glass of his roommate’s hand to take in a single sip the liquid that it had inside to then rest the same emptiness on the table, being stared by Akaashi.

And although the Veritaserum was colorless and odorless, he felt an extremely sour taste in his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: How true a lie can be.


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After all, I think I'll create a twitter account to write smaller aus
> 
> As a Slytherin, I really liked writing this chapter🐍

"I’m nauseos." Ennoshita said.

Akaashi continued with his hands resting on his shoulders as he walked quickly with him to be able to direct him to the potions professor's office, and although he had heard him, he didn’t comment and kept his gaze on Ennoshita’s nape, until he almost collided with the same because he suddenly stopped.

“Now we are all present!”

It was one of the few times that Akaashi opened his eyes like two big plates.

Tanaka looked at both confused.

“What's wrong?” He asked.

“I drank Veritaserum, it’s disgusting!”

Although Akaashi didn’t manage to cover his mouth in time, he felt a complete relief when his roommate didn’t mention anything else. He continued to speak even though Akaashi had decided to cover his mouth with his hand anyway, and he didn’t hesitate to get them to step back because he knew it wasn’t a good idea for Ennoshita to be near Tanaka at that time. The Gryffindor giggled at the thought that he was joking, but remained completely serious when he saw that Akaashi seemed to be anything but entertained.

And he knew that was his opportunity.

“Ennoshita!”

The aforementioned turned around as soon as he heard his name while Akaashi tugged at him. He couldn’t help speaking because a spell of silence wouldn’t work since it was a potion what was affecting him, and his hand on his mouth wasn’t an obstacle.

“You hate me?” Tanaka asked him.

Akaashi couldn’t help but stop pulling his best friend after being extremely stunned.

And both he and Tanaka rested their eyes on Ennoshita, who chuckled before speaking.

“Of course I hate you!”

Akaashi promptly shook off the stupefaction of him when he heard that anwer, and didn’t doubt to momentarily make his hands stop being on Ennoshita’s shoulders to draw his wand and make the tip of it stay just a millimeter away from Tanaka's face.

“Don’t force me to send you away.”

The clear threat from Akaashi, who was known for being a great student at the time of performing spells, along with his defiant blue eyes, was enough for Tanaka to raise both hands innocently and leave with a stunned expression.

“Well, mark me down as scared and horny!” Ennoshita expressed, who had visualized the whole scene as well as the fact that his roommate returned to keep his wand in his tunic to again rest his hands on his shoulders and therefore move him by the hall. “Oh, it's true that you don’t understand," He added as they continued walking, he smiling awkwardly while Akaashi had been able to drive away anyone who had dared to approach them, because although his face was envied, it could also cause the worst of fears. “See, that’s what happens to you for being pure blood Akaashi, you miss the memes.”

Akaashi managed to take him to the professor's office without crossing with anyone else or losing all his patience in the process. The adult made Ennoshita sit in the only chair in the place while he went to look for the corresponding antidote after Ennoshita himself told him what happened to him after he had asked why they were there. And once they were alone, suddenly Ennoshita swallowed after catching a glimpse of his best friend as he stopped smiling with joy when he saw the bluish look on him that at that moment made him nervous.

Akaashi was extremely serious.

“Tell me.”

That time it was the first time since they met, that Ennoshita observed his roommate with fear.

"Tell me why you knew it was Veritaserum." Akaashi repeated.

Ennoshita opened his mouth to answer because the serum in his body forced him to express only the truth, but he avoided doing it by covering his mouth with his hands, because despite the intensity with which the potion counted, it didn’t have the same effects in all people. And Ennoshita was proving to be the kind of student who despite being considered young, had the necessary skills to cope, since he hadn’t had a problem talking to Tanaka, because since his thoughts about him had made him confuse love with hate, they had managed to save him from a situation that would have ended with a disastrous result. His mind had acted in his favor when dealing with him, and there was no person who knew him better than himself, but everything changed if his best friend was on the center of the problem, and he made it clear when speaking.

“I know you'll be mad if I tell you. It will affect you more than you want to admit.”

Ennoshita again covered his own mouth. Akaashi's expression didn’t change, but the tension around him only increased as a result of the resistance he was exerting to the effects of the potion. They both knew that he was only telling the truth, and for that very reason he made his words so hard to accept.

“Tell me.”

However, for more opposition than Ennoshita wanted to present, in the end he hadn’t yet drunk the antidote and couldn’t consider himself an expert in Occlumency, so the repetition of the same order for the third time made him feel completely obliged to tell what he knew.

“I met Kuroo in the hall. He was desperate to find Bokuto because a few days ago he told him that he didn’t like not knowing what you feel for him, and told him the idea of Veritaserum after you had agreed to be with him from what happened with him and the Amortentia. Kuroo had a suspicion that he would do something like that and told Konoha to watch him while he was also doing it, but when he found him alone, Konoha told him that Bokuto wasn’t with him because he had been talking to the potions teacher. Kuroo looked for Bokuto but instead of him, he found me, and when he told me everything, I looked for you because I didn’t want you to be forced to tell the truth. So I took the potion before you did because I didn’t want you to be forced to confess what you feel. Damn it, why didn’t I just throw it out? I'm such an idiot.”

Ennoshita inhale a deep breath of air to replace the one he had lost after talking often and not leaving room to breathe properly. He had finally let go of all the talk he had fought to keep inside him, and however, he didn’t need to be under the effects of the potion to know that the one standing in front of him possessed the most determined heart and the most focused thoughts, and that for the same reason, he had preferred to drink the potion before he did. Because he knew that Akaashi didn’t need outside help to confess how he felt, and that if he drank it, as it had happened, he would be less embarrassed or angry in case he had to reply questions whose answers he didn’t want to give but was forced to.

And he found himself right.

The professor came back with what appeared to be a small bottle filled with a liquid that Ennoshita drank as soon as the adult told him that was the necessary antidote. Again he felt that his stomach was attacked, although he felt more relieved when the sour taste on his palate was replaced by a sweet one. But he stopped being calm when Akaashi didn’t say anything again since he had listened him with attention, and he didn’t doubt to follow him quickly once the teacher told them they could go, although once they were outside the office, he stopped when the other did.

His best friend didn’t speak. He didn’t open his mouth, nor did he comment on what had happened.

"Akaashi, I'm sorry." Ennoshita said.

He was no longer under the effects of the potion, but his words had been honest.

He didn’t apologize for telling the truth or for being the one to express it, nor for having been involved and placed at the center of the problem, since in any case he continued to occupy a secondary role. He apologized, because despite his innate lack of expression, he knew that his best friend was probably having the worst time of his life.

“I want to be alone.” Akaashi determined.

From the beginning Ennoshita had understood that Bokuto was the only person who managed to change Akaashi's mood just as Akaashi was the only one that could begin or end Bokuto’s mood swings. Bokuto was the only one who despite having always stressed his lack of emotion, had always developed in an emotional way with him, understanding that both had very different personalities, and that not smiling or crying frequently, didn’t mean that Akaashi didn’t have a heart just like everyone else around him. Bokuto showed him that their feelings were mutual although one expressed it all the time and the other only through silent kisses and hugs. So he understood that Bokuto had wanted to make him take the potion to force him to confess what was really happening in his heart and the thoughts that took place in his head, those that Akaashi thought he had shown in the right way through the love he had given, making the potion action to mean the worst of disappointments. The biggest betrayal and the hardest blow he could have received. Because instead of trusting him and giving him time to say how he felt, Bokuto had managed to hurt him and make the suffering that all his previous words about his lack of expression had caused him, be meaningless and null in comparison to the consequences that what happened that afternoon quickly manifested itself in Akaashi.

Ennoshita looked at him sadly as Akaashi walked away without turning around and without adding anything else. And yet, without needing Akaashi to comment or hold a certain expression on his face, Ennoshita knew that although he had previously thought the weather was improving, that moment represented the beginning of a new and unexpected, and possibly the worst, storm. 

* * *

Suga wanted to believe that he had seen wrong, that there was something causing him to get confused and not think clearly. He wanted to think positively and believe that everything was fine and that the situation had been nothing more than a simple confusion, but the tears that had slid down his cheeks showed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think favorably.

After seeing Daichi kissing Michimiya, he didn’t hesitate not to show up even if they had arranged to meet that afternoon, instead opting to go to the common room of his house and then practically run to his room to be able to lock up. But he didn’t take into account that he would cross paths with Oikawa and Iwaizumi, to whom he was forced to tell them what had happened because they wouldn’t believe that he was crying because of a bad note or another pointless excuse that had made his vision become cloudy. And although the best friend’s pair had prevented him from completely falling behind after staying with him and keeping him company, Suga couldn’t help but continue crying once they left.

He knew how he was seen by others, but more important, he knew how he saw himself.

He was aware that when he walked through the corridors or was at the Great Hall, the glances that rested on him meant that they were judging him, talking about him. He knew he was seen as the poor seventh-year who no one understood why belonged to the house characterized by the green color as well as why he belonged to the quidditch team if he was never chosen as a starting player. But he was also aware that his housemates knew him for whom he really was, and that they and himself knew how to take advantage of his abilities and the way he was seen.

Unlike what most people thought, Suga was extremely ambitious. He was proud to belong to the house where he had been sorted six years ago, and everyone around him knew that he was capable of doing whatever was necessary to make Slytherin stand out more than the other houses. He wanted his house to win the Quidditch tournament, as well as the cup of the houses that they had managed to achieve last year. His concentration was unique when it came to setting his goals and fulfilling them no matter what he had to do, and even Oikawa had assured him that he was the only person he saw as his competition when it came to being determined and carrying out everything that was planned.

Suga possessed an intelligence that not many had, since it allowed him to be guided by his cunning and by his ambition. He always fulfilled the goals that were placed before him, so he didn’t care what others thought while his close friends and housemates knew how he was like. He knew that the confidence with which he developed was based on the proud side of him, the voice in his head that told him not to think about other’s opinions and only concentrate on his own, and that he even took advantage of them. Bad comments from the rest for his own benefit. His cunning was his most powerful weapon, not only because that was reciprocal with his intelligence and his ambition, but also because he knew how to deal with people to the point of being able to manipulate them if he wanted to, allowed him to be who he was at that time. A person who helped himself as well as his house in his own way. Whether inside the quidditch field or outside of it, Suga was proud of what he achieved himself as well as what his teammates managed to obtain. He was proud to know that he was a key player in the Quidditch team even though everyone thought otherwise only because he wasn’t a starting player. He was the kind of person who took pride in himself for everything he accomplished, and was happy to be considered the person who managed to keep the Quidditch team from falling apart after preventing the players from being totally aggressive to each other, as well as to give the captain enough confidence, who thanks to his words seemed to have taken a new direction to be the head of the team.

He was the one who prevented the sixth-years from generating problems with the other houses, that Oikawa wouldn’t exceed his drama, that Iwaizumi was patient, that Kuroo trusted himself, that Daishou wasn’t only known for his pettiness, that Matsukawa and Hanamaki didn’t feel replaced when others players were chosen instead of them, and that Kindaichi felt welcome and truly part of the team even if he was the only fifth-year. He was the one who kept the team together because he didn’t doubt that all those who composed it were capable of achieving whatever they wanted. He didn’t care if he always saw his teammates flying instead of meeting them on his broom, as long as they understood that they were flying in the matches because they had what it took to be official players. He trusted both himself and them, and for that very reason, he had been the first to think that a lost first game didn’t imply a total defeat. He was willing to do anything to win, and that ambition was the pillar of his confidence and his enthusiastic pride, as well as the company of his cunning that in turn gave his intelligence an unique side.

Because although everyone misunderstood the words, he didn’t believe that ensuring that he was willing to do everything to get what he wanted, meant something bad, but quite the opposite. Manifesting that phrase didn’t imply that he would get the highest grade in an exam after cheating, but to find other ways to study that didn’t only involve reviewing the same paragraphs and spells over and over again. It didn’t imply that he would leave the quidditch team because there were more skilled players than him, but because they would use his intelligence and his way of analyzing the situations to get the cup through different methods that wouldn’t only involve the players mounted on their brooms. It meant that he was going to fight his own battles, his own way.

People always assumed the worst when it was said that Slytherins were willing to do whatever it was to get what they wanted, while in reality, those words only meant that they wouldn’t rest until they found all possible ways to emerge victorious, to achieve their goals. That they would go after the search for all possibilities in order to be satisfied, that they would be determined until they felt pleased.

He had always prided himself on the cunning that both his thoughts and emotions entailed, so he wasn’t surprised when he was able to remove all traces of sadness from his face once he found himself facing Daichi. The Gryffindor had asked him to meet after they hadn’t done so on the day they had agreed for reasons that Suga thought obvious, and instead of remaining crying in his room, he had opted to agree to see him, as he believed that his determined side would allow him to manipulate the situation in his favor. He wanted to know why he had been hurt, why Daichi had betrayed him.

A part of him continued to feel eager to go to his room to hide under his sheets when Daichi only smiled enthusiastically instead of kneeling at his feet to apologize for what he had done. He showed that he wasn’t sorry, and that he didn’t care to deceive him or let him know that his feelings weren’t only for him, that his heart didn’t belong only to him as he had thought since the New Year's Eve. Suga was extremely hurt, but he didn’t plan to let his feelings stand in the way of his goals, since he had never allowed it before and wasn’t willing to change that.

He was surprised that Daichi seemed slightly impressed when he could only kiss him on the cheek after not allowing him to kiss him with those lips that had already been on another person’s lips. He remained with his arms crossed and with the left side of his body leaning against the wall while Daichi observed him still smiling. For the Gryffindor it was obvious that something was happening with the boy in front of him, and he didn’t doubt that it had to do with what he had learned through Yaku.

"I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're thinking." Daichi said.

Suga raised an eyebrow as soon as he heard him.

He? He wasn’t angry?

He had never doubted it, since he considered that he himself had the right to be angry.

"What happened has nothing to do with us, so I don’t think it's important." Daichi added.

Suga crossed his arms even more to prevent the other from hearing the rapid beating of his angry and altered heart, because although he hadn’t predicted anything good, he hadn’t expected Daichi to suddenly become very straightforward, apparently not even considering him important in his life. Suga wondered how it was possible that he had fallen before that kind of person, and he supposed that next time he would spend more time thinking before letting himself be carried away by his emotions.

He just hummed, since he didn’t feel like talking, and Daichi swallowed after understanding the same thing.

“I mean, I know that Futakuchi is in your same house, but I don’t think you were surprised when it turned out he was the one who bewitched Kunimi.” He expressed, “You Slytherins are usually those who are involved in problems." He added, along with an honest laugh.

Although Suga suddenly remained surprised, he didn’t let stupefaction be obvious on his face.

Futakuchi had bewitched Kunimi?

As soon as he realized what he had heard, he knew he would have a very serious talk with the Quidditch team captain, since he didn’t doubt that Kuroo knew about what he had just heard, because if even Daichi knew, then it was likely that he too. And yet, for that moment he forgot his housemate because Daichi’s final words were those that attracted his interest the most.

“I know, right? We are always the ones who generate the problems.” He finally spoke.

Daichi giggled when he heard him, not realizing that Suga wasn’t at all entertained with his own words and that for the only reason that his sentence hadn’t been accompanied by real meaning, was because the Slytherin had also learned to manipulate the way the words came out of his mouth and the way they were received, perceived by others.

“I mean, in this case it can be said it was obvious because, you know, like, Futakuchi is from Slytherin.” The Gryffindor expressed.

And he managed to fill with the patience of that in front of him.

Suga could tolerate Daichi pretending that nothing had happened.

He could pretend that having seen him kissing someone else didn’t affect him enough to be able to meet him despite feeling extremely hurt and sad because of what he had done. He could conceal a serious expression instead of sitting in a corner of his room to mourn inconsolably, and he might prefer to be guided momentarily by the traits that had made him be sorted in a certain house and not in another instead of letting emotions control him.

But he wouldn’t let him make fun of his own house, as well as his housemates.

Those of his same year could be somewhat clumsy and immature when they joked with each other, and the sixth-years could be the most problematic people he knew. He had become accustomed to appearing at the right times to prevent them from starting to fight with members of other houses, as well as to get them out of trouble so that they wouldn’t continue to accumulate problems.

Several times Suga had commented him on all the pranks in which he had been involved, not only because Daishou and Kuroo liked to bother each other and therefore he always ended up in the middle after sharing a room with them, but also because he had already lost the account of all the times he had seen Oikawa moving away at full speed from Iwaizumi with a clumsy and funny smile on his face after he had filled his patience and therefore had no choice but to run away if he didn't want his best friend to kill him with his wand. He had also told him about all the jokes that Matsukawa and Hanamaki didn’t hesitate to plan together to annoy everyone and get someone to always end up lying on the floor, with hair of different colors, wet or completely dirty, or with some deformed part of the body. He had also talked to him about the sixth-years, who just like them, the seventh-years, bothered each other, since just like many other times Suga didn’t hesitate to take advantage of his position as prefect to annoy others, Atsumu, Osamu, Yahaba and Futakuchi didn’t doubt to bother each other in different ways. Even despite his initial shyness, Kindaichi had joined some pranks. But if Daichi believed that all those moments implied that in Slytherin they were characterized for being a bad influence, then it was clear that he had been confused to think that he could trust him.

He had accepted that his housemates weren’t perfect like he wasn’t either, and for the same reason he had decided to give his all so that even his weaknesses could turn in his favor. So he wouldn’t let Daichi continue mocking those for whom he would always give everything.

Suga stopped finding himself leaning against the wall.

“I can accept that you mock me. But not my house." He determined.

His housemates and he were much more than a handful of rebellious students.

Daichi looked at him with stupefaction when he heard him. He hadn’t expected Suga to react in that way, much less that his attitude seemed to get worse with respect to him.

“Long live to the enmity between Gryffindor and Slytherin.”

And he remained completely astonished when that was the last thing Suga manifested before leaving, making him remain confused when he heard the sentence that could only implied the beginning of a new one, and the return of an old, house fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Getting away, and getting closer.


	53. Chapter 53

Akaashi closed his eyes as he continued to allow the cool morning breeze to move his black strands. Being in the wooden bridge allowed him to be free of all presence, to take advantage of the fresh air of the morning, as well as to stay away from any other student.

He didn’t doubt that his housemates were probably wondering where he was since it was common for him to be the first to appear during breakfast as well as to greet everyone when later they all were at the table, but he hoped that Ennoshita and Kenma would say that he had chosen to stay studying in the room instead of appearing at the Great Hall like any other morning, although he knew that of all his teammates, his best friends were probably the ones who most wondered where he was even though those were the same in assuring the others he was in the room. But in turn, he hoped that Ennoshita would tell Kenma that he had chosen to miss breakfast not because he had something against him, but because he wanted to be alone. Although he didn’t doubt that by himself Kenma would have noticed that something was happening to him, since the day before he had also leave, but still at night he had appeared at the Great Hall for dinner, even if it he had remained in complete silence and not because he was mentally reviewing for an exam or would prefer to eat with an open book by his side, but because he didn't feel like having a conversation.

He knew that his best friends were worried about him, but he also knew that if he let them worry, the only one affected would be him after not being able to contain himself, so he had chosen to cope with his behavior the day before, and therefore, to get away of all and everything, or at least make the attempt, since being alone in that part of the castle, hadn’t managed to dissolve his thoughts or his body to free itself from the tension that had taken hold of it since he had left the potions teacher's office with Ennoshita behind him.

He had slept, even if it was a little, but as soon as he had woken up, he had understood that the tightness in his chest continued to be there, as well as the stiffness in every inch of his body. The pain still dominating his thoughts, and for the same reason at that time he had chosen to close his eyes, since even though he felt that the only thing he wanted to do was allow his feelings to be outsourced through tears running down his cheeks, he didn’t want to start the day that way even if he had chosen to start it by finding himself alone.

“Akaashi.”

Akaashi opened his eyes in an instant as he couldn’t prevent his muscles from remaining completely motionless when he heard his name being mentioned by the only person he least wanted to talk to nor cross paths with.

Although he remained with his arms crossed, with his forearms perched on the rail that joined the different columns that kept the wooden brige standing, Akaashi anyway made fists with his hands after not being able to avoid the mixture of sensations that ran through his body when he realized that he wasn’t totally alone anymore, and to top it all, that the one who had appeared, turned out to be who he least wanted to see.

Bokuto continued watching him although Akaashi didn't turn around as soon as he heard him. He hadn’t hesitated to leave the Great Hall just as he hadn’t seen him among the other Ravenclaw’s students, and after touring several parts of the castle, since at no time had he believed that Akaashi had remained in his room or the common room of his house, he had finally found him, only to find him still and quiet.

Akaashi had done everything possible not to cross him, since the last time they had been together, Bokuto would had managed to make him drink the Veritaserum potion in case Ennoshita hadn’t arrived because he had previously collided with Kuroo, and the fact that they both remembered that, got Akaashi to swallow with difficulty and form a line with his lips, and for Bokuto to take a step to approach him, which only played against him, because when he barely rested his hand on Akaashi's shoulder, instead of receiving a sideways smile or felt a hand on his as he was used to seeing or feeling, at that time Akaashi completely forgot about the stiffness of his muscles to move his shoulder in an obvious way, letting him know that he didn't want him to touch him.

After getting used to Akaashi always looking for physical contact between them instead of making it end in an instant, made Bokuto feel completely rejected as well as hurt. With just one movement, the Ravenclaw had denied his full existence as well as making it clear that what he least wanted was the contact between the two although previously the opposite had always happened.

Bokuto observed him, and after realizing that establishing contact wasn’t the best idea, he stood next to him, being careful to make their shoulders or any other part of their bodies not to brush by chance, but anyway his emotions continued feeling fade when Akaashi turned his head to the other side to avoid him and not allow their eyes to meet. Bokuto looked at him anyway, and he didn't know what to do or say. It had never happened to him that Akaashi rejected him that way, and to understand that Akaashi was really denying him, made a feeling with which he felt completely familiar, reappear in his chest to make him feel that the Ravenclaw didn’t want him in any possible way, but he still swallowed dry.

“I—”

He didn't even manage to continue because suddenly Akaashi turned his head towards him, thus allowing Bokuto to see the frown of his brow, the tension of his facial features, the stiff manner in which his lips had formed a line, and the way his eyes didn't observe him in the way he was used to, with yearning, with desire, and passion. But with frustration, anger, and sadness.

It was clear to both of them that neither had been able to sleep not only because they had each done it in their beds, but also because each had spent the night immersed in their own thoughts, and their bodies had kept them alert, restless.

Akaashi watched him, wondering how Bokuto was able to approach him as if nothing had happened, as if the day before had been like any other, as if they had met somewhere in the castle to kiss, as if they had seen each other during dinner, and as if they had chosen to spend time together after it to later sleep in the same bed. When in reality, they had only spent some time together after lunch and then never saw each other again.

Bokuto wasn’t able to drop any word or enunciate a phrase that allowed him to face that bluish look surrounded by frustration and reflected in anger, the way in which Akaashi remained silent and also forced him to subtract in that way. But what Akaashi least wanted was to continue being in the same space as him, so he didn't hesitate to stop seeing him to turn around and then take out his wand.

He didn't even need to turn around or open his mouth to point his wand back and in that way create a transparent wall that prevented Bokuto from following him, since when he had barely moved, Bokuto too. And the older remained completely still before almost colliding with the wall that made Akaashi to obtain his objective, for him to not follow him. Bokuto watched him, with his amber gaze freeing itself of its typical brightness, and his shell beginning to dissolve. 

* * *

 

Kuroo thought he attracted trouble.

Or rather, that his friends attracted them for him.

Already his feelings were made a mess because his situation with Kenma didn’t seem to improve since the Ravenclaw continued to be obsessed with the idea of ignoring him full time, and to top it all, his best friend had annoyed his relationship with Kenma's best friend, so the words of warning that he had mentioned had been totally ignored. And besides, it turned out that not only a bad relationship with Ravenclaw was beginning to define his circle of close people, since after chatting with Suga, who the day before had approached him, he had found out that his fellow Gryffindors were also doing ones of their own.

Ravenclaw ignored him, Hufflepuff didn’t listen to him, and Gryffindor criticized him.

He internally appreciated that Suga had approached to speak with him, because although he didn’t expect him to learn about what had happened with Futakuchi, fortunately they had had a very comprehensive talk, so they also took the opportunity to talk about other topics, which led to Suga telling him about what had happened with Daichi, and like him, Kuroo was the first to defend his house from the stereotypes that had always surrounded them, which was why at the time he hadn’t hesitated to tell Akaashi that he would cooperate to find who had bewitched Kunimi while his own house wasn’t accused and pointed with a judging finger. The sixth-year duo who belonged to Slytherin were equally aware of the comments that were whispered about their house, and from the moment they had been sorted in it, they had never doubted to confront anyone to make it clear that nobody knew how they really were, how Slytherin really functioned.

Suga also told him that he was down not only because of Daichi's comments, but also because he had seen him kissing someone else. And although the criticism against his own house had been enough for Kuroo to leave his table at the Great Hall to approach the one on the other side of the place, to know that who could be considered his best friend had been hurt, it was enough so that he, who also wanted to show that he wasn’t captain only inside the quidditch field, didn’t hesitate to cross his arms and raise an eyebrow when he remained facing Daichi, who like Yaku, who was sitting next to him, observed him.

"Of all of us," Kuroo began, referring to the people who carried the same shield with a snake in its center and in one of the upper corners of their tunics, as well as a tie with green and gray stripes, “Did you really have to screw Suga-chan specifically?”

Daichi looked down as soon as he heard the name of the mentioned one.

And unlike Kuroo, who only had Suga’s version, Yaku had the version told by his roommate, so he was aware of how bad it was to know Suga was angry with him, so he didn’t hesitate to jump on his defense, since he didn’t think that more discussions stacked on their shoulders was a good idea.

"Leave it, Kuroo." Yaku said.

“And you will defend him?” Kuroo asked him.

“He's my best friend so we both know the answer to that question.”

“Well, I defend my best friend too.” He assured him.

"Kuroo, I didn’t mean to offend him." Daichi said, looking up.

When he caught a glimpse of the dark circles under his eyes and his shrunken shoulders, the Slytherin knew that Suga, and even Bokuto, weren’t the only ones who had gone through a bad night, but that didn’t stop him from saying a word anyway.

“Really?” His tone of voice was disturbingly sarcastic, and several students began to rest their attention on him as he left the palms of his hands on the table in a non very good nor calm way. “The problem is, Daichi, that we are both captains. And as much as I maintain a minimal relationship with some of my players, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still my housemates. And if you insult one for being Slytherin, it means you are also insulting me. I don’t know how you found out about our problem with Ravenclaw, but it has already been fixed. So I would really appreciate it if Gryffindor refrains from commenting on us. And for the moment, you refrain from talking to Sugawara.”

Leadership.

Regardless of whether they had lost the first game, that the sixth-years were extremely problematic and weren’t willing to listen, that the team would have been thrown down in case they hadn’t decided to return, and that of the four groups they seemed to be the weakest. Regardless of all that and all the comments that had been released since Slytherin had worked out on the quidditch pitch, everyone agreed on something. Many seemed to have forgotten, while the three remaining captains, and the four vice captains, had never let go of that little detail that turned out to be what didn’t allow them to hope when their houses faced Slytherin. And it was that Kuroo was the right person to be the team leader.

His relationship with the rest of the players wasn’t perfect and his confidence sometimes disappeared momentarily, but that didn’t take away that Kuroo possessed the necessary qualities to be the guide of others and the optimal capabilities to turn his team into the best of the tournament if so he proposed it. He wasn’t afraid to take the initiative and be responsible for his decisions, to promote them and make them be respected and carried out efficiently and effectively. He wasn’t afraid to be the one to have the last word, nor to be the first to communicate. He distinguished himself from the rest and was able to make the right decisions for his team as well as for his house, and managed to inspire the rest to participate in the idea of reaching the goal that united them.

He was intelligent enough that the Sorting Hat had thought of placing him in Ravenclaw, but the glimpse of initiative that he glimpsed in his Ravenclaw's thoughts made him decide to place him in Slytherin, because while in Ravenclaw he wouldn’t be able to stand out after they all samed a sentimentality of individualism for being the best, in Slytherin he would be heard and followed by anyone who rested their confidence in him and his decisions. Kuroo had exceptional patience, being the one to be heard excited him, and making decisions wasn’t something problematic or traumatic although the same sometimes could have bad consequences.

And for that very reason, even if his team had lost and he wasn’t even close to showing he was the right person to coordinate his own players, the other captains knew they shouldn’t underestimate him. They knew that they shouldn’t take for granted that Slytherin would lose the Quidditch tournament only because they had had a messy beginning, since they also knew that Kuroo could manage to assemble and form the best team in case he finally decided to realize that he had the necessary to do so, and that he had been elected as captain because there was no one else who could better develop the role of leader.

Oikawa knew it and that's why he hadn’t complained about being vice-captain.

Bokuto knew it and that's why he was proud of his best friend.

Akaashi knew it and that's why he didn’t underestimate him.

And Daichi knew it too, so at that time he remained completely serious after hearing him. Kuroo was someone who could only be as he truly was for belonging to Slytherin, and he would face anyone who dared insult the trainer of his character. His true personality was just blossoming, and once he got to mature and reach his peak, he couldn’t nor wouldn’t be stopped by anyone.

“I think you should go.” Yaku expressed.

Kuroo’s serious tone of voice and determined look made his best friend sitting beside him remain silent, but Yaku was and acted the same as the Slytherin when it came to defending those he cared for. Both Daichi and Kuroo were extremely close to him, but he wouldn’t tolerate insults to his house either.

Kuroo looked at him as he straightened up, and glanced at Daichi with evident anger on his expression before leaving. The tension between the students of both houses only continued to increase, causing more people to begin to be involved. And in case the clashes continue to occur, a minor misunderstanding would turn into a real war of houses. 

* * *

Hanamaki pushed Matsukawa out of the room before he continued to hold a huge and obvious smile on his face, and didn’t hesitate to close the door behind them as they had decided to reward their best friends all the time they had given them so that they could show their affection to themselves, and the silence reigned in the room as soon as there were two those in remain inside.

Iwaizumi looked at himself in the mirror while unsuccessfully trying to perfect the knot of the tie around his neck at the same time that Oikawa remained seated on his bed reading a book with his glasses on. The first knew that the brunet always used to read some pages when he woke up because he used to say that it calmed him down, so he continued trying to fix his tie instead of bothering him. But he got sudden help when Oikawa chose to approach him after leaving his book closed on his bed since he had actually never really been paying attention to it.

“I'm surprised you have so little memory, Iwa-chan. We've been wearing ties for seven years now," Oikawa said as he kept his eyes fixed on the tie he had begun to fix.

And although he earned a blow to the head after mentioning that comment, Iwaizumi watched him.

"You're stressed." He expressed after a few seconds had sufficed him to verify that Oikawa’s serious face was due to several reasons.

"I am." Oikawa agreed at the same time he finished fixing his tie, proving that having tried to read had failed to calm him.

“Why?” Iwaizumi rested his hands on his arms to make him soft caresses.

The brunet gave him a smile that indicated that he was comfortable with the contact between the two, but remained serious as soon as he spoke again.

"Shigeru-chan had a panic attack and I didn’t do anything," He began to say as he looked down, showing that he truly was sorry he hadn’t been more involved when that had happened, although the frustration in his tone of voice already left it in evidence. “I tried to talk to Tetsu-chan because I don’t understand why he made the decision without me," He raised his head but looking away, which expressed that he was upset, “But Kenji-chan appeared and told us what we didn’t want to listen but what we needed to. And I know something’s going on with Tetsu-chan but he doesn’t want to talk about it.” He added finally resting his brown eyes on Iwaizumi, proving that he really believed in his own words. “What do you think of Mad Dog-chan rejoining the team?” He asked him.

Iwaizumi gave him one more caress before separating from him to sit on the edge of his bed and begin to put on both shoes while Oikawa had also moved to stand in front of him.

"I don’t think Kuroo did it with bad intentions," He replied, “That is, he wants the team's approval and not to be rejected, and perhaps for the same reason he didn’t realize that although Kyoutani is a great player who can contribute to the team, the relationships he maintains with those of his same year aren’t favorable right now.” He got up and ran his arms through the sleeves of his tunic, making Oikawa rest his eyes on the shield of the house that was on that cloth. “And yeah, maybe he managed to get Yahaba and Futakuchi to meet again at the starting point but I don’t think it's a situation without escape. At first Yahaba and Kyoutani didn’t get along but then they changed.”

"But now there's a whole story between them." Oikawa reminded him.

“I know, but all story can turn suddenly, don’t you think?”

Oikawa bit his lower lip after forming a small smile knowing that the phrase was referring to them but had so far spoken of other people, since it was true that the relationship between them had certainly changed, and he didn’t hesitate to allow the uneasiness because of the problems related to the team to be replaced by a new sensation that spread around them after surrounding Iwaizumi’s neck with his arms.

“You know, the other day we couldn’t finish what we had started.” He said not so innocent.

Both could remember with great ease the moment when their wishes had almost been fulfilled, and that would have been satisfied if Suga hadn’t appeared getting all their attention after crying. They hadn’t hesitated to help him and be there for him, so the nerves that had momentarily appeared were gone as well as the excitement of experiencing something completely new.

A sensation that at that moment returned to dominate over their bodies.

Oikawa smiled when Iwaizumi ran his hand through his hair although that implied that he had probably ruined the hairstyle that he did every morning, while he rested the other one on his waist.

“Yeah? I think I forgot what we apparently started." Iwaizumi lied.

He still couldn’t believe that it was possible that his best friend seemed to correspond to his feelings, since he knew that if he didn’t, Oikawa wouldn’t behave in that new way when he was with him.

An amused smile settled on his face as well as a new attitude that demanded his full attention.

“Let me help you remember.”

Oikawa rested his forehead on his, and he felt how suddenly the nerves invaded him as the emotion rose to his head.

"Just make sure you're not playing with me." Iwaizumi asked him.

Instead of grimacing because his best friend didn’t think he could feel the same as him, Oikawa chose to smile completely excited. "Better let me show you."

He had previously told Iwaizumi that he hadn’t been the first to confess because he wanted him to do so, but he hadn’t thought about what to do after they both made it clear that a friendship was no longer enough, but the truth was that he no longer wanted to think or plan, so completely anxious and certainly trembling though his words were accompanied by a sure and determined tone of voice, he rested his lips on those of the one who received him with pleasure and complete warmness. Iwaizumi pulled him even closer when he saw that he wasn’t dreaming, and it was he who was leading the rhythm of their union when Oikawa let out a gasp over his mouth as he felt the other approached their bodies. Illuminated by the warm morning light that invaded the room where they had so often laughed together, their lips met, and tasted for the third time, although that turned out to be the first in which their mouths were eagerly savoured, and Oikawa began to run his hands through his hair as Iwaizumi began to caress his lower back when they understood that the new change between them didn’t imply losing the familiarity that had always united them, as well as the trust that at that moment only multiplied. Their tongues quickly established a strong communication between them and the nervousness within them was replaced by a feeling of relaxation and release that caused both of them to fall on Iwaizumi's bed.

Neither of them wanted the contact between the two to cease, but they were forced to leave a few millimeters of distance between them when they heard knocking on the door of their room. And while they rested their foreheads together, the two unconsciously released the same sigh of annoyance, and although Oikawa wanted to continue with what they had been enjoying doing so far, he finally turned away from Iwaizumi when the knocking on the door continued to be heard, and he received a light touch on the cheek before getting up after being he who had been on top of Iwaizumi.

They knew it wasn’t Matsukawa or Hanamaki because those wouldn’t have hesitated to enter without even asking permission since the four of them shared the same room. But anyway Oikawa remained confused when the one who had interrupted his moment with his best friend, turned out to be a Kindaichi with a worried and somehow downcast expression on his face.

And while in one of the Slytherin dormitories previously two were found kissing only to be interrupted again, making them think that they would never have a real chance to prove that a friendship wasn't what they wanted, in another bedroom of the same house, where the problems only seemed to increase as the corridors extended and the stairs were climbed, that day seemed to start all but quietly, since a student expected that anyone would appear in his room to prevent the one who was with him from continuing to stare at him, until it was enough for Yahaba to cast a sidelong glance at Kyoutani to see that his eyes were resting on his arms.

Most of the cuts had disappeared and the size of the gauze had been reduced to a square that covered the pink line that marked his skin, making the discussion he had had with Kuroo quickly cease to maintain its consequences on his skin. Although that didn’t take away that his thoughts would never allow him to forget the situation, as well as the moments he had passed afterwards.

"You give yourself the luxury of interrupting my conversations when you didn’t even care that I was hurt." Yahaba expressed knowing that the other's attention was resting on him, and he found himself right when Kyoutani's eyes drifted to his face once he started talking. “And you didn’t show up even though you knew I was hurt because sooner or later everyone finds out everything here, so don’t look at me with a worried expression when you really had the opportunity to worry about me, and you didn’t.”

Yahaba had already become accustomed to the fact that Kyoutani again turned out to be his roommate, although the fact that he slept with Futakuchi seemed to indicate the opposite because he knew that he said he still needed his best friend to make him feel safe because the other’s presence made him feel the opposite.

“Are you dating him?” Kyoutani asked, ignoring all of his previous words.

Yahaba didn’t need him to mention Ennoshita to know he was talking about him.

So he smiled amused, gesture to which Kyoutani growled.

Kyoutani had become conscious again only a few minutes after the Ravenclaw had left Yahaba alone, who looked at him with no expression on his face when he stopped lying on the floor. It didn’t bother him to be fulminated with his hostile look and he didn’t bother to follow Kyoutani when he left with strong footsteps. He had interrupted his time with Ennoshita and he hand’t like it because he knew that he had only approached them to make a scene of jealousy.

"No." Yahaba finally replied, “And if I did, it shouldn’t be your concern.” He suddenly stopped keeping his attention on the books he had been keeping in his backpack as well as his eyes on it when his gaze was rested on the one who stopped being sitting on the edge of his bed to stand on the other side of his, watching him intently with a frown. “You can’t give yourself the permission to be jealous either. You basically disappeared from my life, so don’t expect that just because you've decided to reappear, now my life will revolve around you again." He added, being surprised with his own self because instead of having panicked or felt that his airways were closing, his tone of voice had been completely calm but determined as well as his words direct and free of all lies.

“Can’t I be jealous?” Kyoutani asked.

Yahaba hated himself for smiling after having found out the truth, but soon his smile disappeared when after wrapping the sleeve of his backpack to assure him that he didn’t plan to waste his time answering, that action turned out to be against him since Kyoutani took the opportunity to prevent him from doing so after taking his wrist with his hand. Yahaba watched the contact between their skins as he felt that suddenly swallowing was difficult as well as breathing quietly, and finally he looked up to find Kyoutani watching him closely, allowing his golden irises to look for any sign of doubt in his brown eyes, and for that occasion, he let him go of his own decision.

Yahaba hung his rucksack on his shoulder and allowed his lips to form an almost indivisible circle to exhale the air he had previously inhaled. Although he wasn’t completely surprised, he had just discovered that he was able to remain calm while no kind of physical contact was given between them. And after realizing that, he didn’t hesitate to go towards the door of the room they again shared. He only wanted to leave and get away from him, but after having been so many months with all the words and thoughts accumulated both in his heart and in his head, he simply allowed what he felt to escape from his lips.

“You left. You just left.” He said turning around to look at him seriously. “I get it. It pissed you off that Slytherin didn’t win last year. And? You just left me, like if I didn’t matter and to you I was just like any other teammate. Like if I was like anybody else. I just can’t even say you are my ex because you just left and even didn’t give me the chance to break up. To sort things out that I didn’t even think we had to talk about.” He continued to express, since he had lost count of all the times someone had asked him about the one that remained in front of him. “I waited for you in the infirmary. When I got hurt, I expected you to show up and you didn’t. I spent countless days and nights thinking the worst of myself because of you. So don’t come now pretending that you care when you had a real chance to do it, and prove it, and you didn’t. You could pretend I wasn’t here? That we don’t belong to the same house? That I am nothing to you? Appear again, sleep in my room again, be on my team again. You didn’t care then, so why should I care now? You are jealous, you say? Get over it, because guess what? The only one you can blame is your own selfish and stupid self. You said you wanted to get me back, and yet you still haven’t even apologized for losing me." Yahaba reminded him.

He stared at him, reminding Kyoutani that he wasn’t the only one of the two who could make his gaze severe, and then decided to leave him alone by slamming the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Yaku finds himself at the right moment and at the right time, and Lev at the wrong moment, at the wrong time.


	54. Chapter 54

Yaku continued to find himself with his book in hand, standing in front of one of the lockers in the classroom where he was, seeming to have gone with the intention of keeping the class book there since it had just finished, but having forgotten how it was to perform that action, since he remained totally still, and with his gaze focused on the cover of the book.

Daichi had explained to him why Suga had gotten mad at him from comments he had made with no intention of being taken wrong, as well as listening to everything Kuroo had said when he had approached their table during the breakfast. And yet, there was something he still didn't understand.

It was clear that Suga had gotten mad at Daichi because apparently he had said something bad about his house, but if he had talked about Slytherin in general, then why did Kuroo say Daichi had specifically messed with Suga?

"You heard Kuroo when he came to our table."

Yaku suddenly blinked after hearing that voice, and put the book away after realizing that he had probably seemed to want to be like a statue while the others continued to leave the classroom as well as others keeping their things.

"I don't think it was because we kissed."

He looked at the door of the locker with an arched eyebrow, since as he had recognized Aihara's voice, at that moment he had recognized Michimiya's, who shared that class with him, the last having spoken those words that had managed to capture his interest.

Michimiya and Kuroo had kissed?

He was grateful to be turning his back to others, since he didn’t doubt that his expression of confusion had been totally evident. It was simply impossible that those two had kissed not only because he had never seen them interacting before, but because for anyone, it was obvious that Kuroo was behind Kenma. Yaku raised both eyebrows, realizing that it was obvious to everyone, except for Kenma.

"But it surely had to do with that."

"It was only a kiss."

The disorientation on Yaku's face continued to increase. Was it possible that Michimiya and Kuroo had kissed?

"And yet, you didn't kiss him anyway just because."

“Look. I know that lying to Sawamura wasn’t right, that it’s true that you didn’t force me to anything because we weren’t playing thruth or dare and that I went with my own will, and that I knew that Sugawara was going to be there. But I like Sawamura since we were little. Do you know what it was like to see him be behind him when I've always been for him? That after our families were together in New Year, he told me he would go see him? He used to always stay with me. It did hurt.”

Yaku opened his eyes like two plates.

"It's not okay what you did, you hurt people."

"I was hurt too.  But that's it. I wanted an opportunity with him and I already got it. If a single, simple kiss breaks with them, then they weren’t so destined to be together.”

“With external influences, destiny can always change.”

"If they don’t come back, then my actions have nothing to do with it."

Yaku opened the locker again, pretending to be ordering the books when the voices became closer and then he looked at the backs of both girls when they passed near him to continue talking to each other, he thinking that they had clearly not realized that he hadn’t left because they had talked about the issue without problems, issue that made him remain stunned.

He had heard Michimiya mention that he had lied to Daichi and that he also liked him, as well as had heard something about a kiss, which, if he joined all the heard words plus Kuroo's obvious irritation and Daichi’s sadness, meant that Daichi and Michimiya had kissed, that Suga had seen them, and that Suga had told Kuroo. But despite devising a hypothesis, Yaku remained completely confused, because just as it didn't make sense that Kuroo and Michimiya had kissed, it didn't make sense either that she and Daichi had done it, but as soon as he turned around and almost collided with a person, all the confusion disappeared from his face.

Oikawa, who had followed Suga with his eyes when he was the first to leave the class as soon as it was over, took advantage of the free time that Suga's absence provided him, to make his own presence something evident after he positioned himself in front of Yaku. During the last days he had kept his attention on Suga because he knew he wasn't well, but he didn't hurry to follow him because he knew that he should also provide him his space to be alone, which explained why at that time he raised an eyebrow as soon as Yaku did it.

“Will you explain to me why Kindaichi interrupted my boyfriend and I, to tell us that all of his classmates began to fight and comment on each other because apparently those of your house didn’t hesitate to attack my house when another Hufflepuff, who we both know very well who I am talking about, had no better idea than to say a word about a subject about which I wasn’t even aware of?”

Both Oikawa and Iwaizumi remained extremely surprised when unconsciously and without planning, Kindaichi let loose a word about what had happened with Futakuchi and Kunimi after having started to explain why he had appeared in their room with a worried expression on his face. Kindaichi was the only fifth-year who belonged to Slytherin, so he hadn’t hesitated to take refuge in those two people who although were older than him, were also from his own house and knew him from before. The best friends pair didn’t doubt to make him understand that the house to which they belonged to didn’t imply that they were evil and highly arrogants, and that he could always count on them to speak no matter what topic was, just as they had shown at that time. Although at the same time, Iwaizumi and Oikawa had looked at each other with surprise in the best concealed way they could after learning about what had happened during the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw game.

“Your boyfriend and... you? Since when do you have a boyfriend?” Yaku asked him.

"Future boyfriend." Oikawa corrected himself.

Suddenly the two remained silent when unconsciously the two wondered why of all the talk that Oikawa had released, the first thing they talked about was that.

"Apparently neither of us serves to control our rookies." The Gryffindor said, who was still trying to reconsider all the information.

Oikawa raised an eyebrow at the realization that Yaku was referring to Futakuchi with respect to Slytherin.

"Tell your boys not to bother mine." Oikawa crossed his arms.

“How the hell do you know I have something to do with Lev?”

Yaku asked questions as his head understood what he had heard before.

“I had the suspicion. You just confirmed it for me." Oikawa smiled broadly.

“So you didn’t know about Futakuchi either?” Yaku managed to conclude.

“I found out because of Kindaichi. I assume you didn’t know either.”

“You're going to guess who I've heard about.”

There was no need to name a tall, gray-haired fifth-year boy.

"And I guess you've heard that Kuroo appeared at my table today, not being friendly at all." Yaku added, because although he had just heard a piece of conversation, that didn’t change that he had had a restless morning anyway.

Oikawa look at him intrigued. “Why do you all fight while I'm in my room?” He asked indignantly.

“I don’t want to know what you could be doing.”

Oikawa smiled widely as he remembered the way his lips had connected with Iwaizumi's.

"We didn’t fight." Yaku added. “But he wasn’t nice to Daichi.”

“And why the hell should he be?”

The Gryffindor remained surprised when he heard the change in Okawa’s tone of voice as well as he also glimpsed his smile becoming a serious expression, starting to think that perhaps the fact that his best friend and Michimiya had kissed wasn’t so impossible, but he chose to be cautious.

"You're implying that we should take our roots back and that fighting with each other is okay just because you belong to Slytherin and I am a Gryffindor?" Yaku asked him.

“What are you talking about? It doesn’t matter what house it is. Daichi hurt Suga-chan. I wouldn’t have minded that Tetsu-chan had done more than not being nice enough with him. He hurt the feelings of one of my closest friends, I personally will make Daichi pay for his actions.”

Yaku raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Oikawa also remained confused when Yaku appeared to be more disoriented than him.

“Why do you think Tetsu-chan went to your table today?”

“For a possible confrontation between Slytherin and Gryffindor in the wake of a comment that Daichi made?” He replied, no longer being so sure of his words.

“Just a comment?” Oikawa gave a false laugh, “Didn’t he mention anything about Suga-chan?”

“Kuroo said to stay away from him, but I figured it's because they both belong to different houses.”

“Well, it's not like that. Daichi kissed another person and Suga-chan is sad for that.” The expression of surprise that appeared on Yaku's face was enough for Oikawa to know that the one in front of him had just learned about the matter, or rather, finished joining the pieces. “Tell your friend not to comment on my house, let alone when he is together with a person who I still don’t know how he agreed to talk to him after what he did. I saw him cry, so if you don’t want your friend to be persecuted by my own hands and my wand, I would recommend that you talk seriously with him.”

As soon as Oikawa finished speaking, the two stared at each other, since they had understood that the two remained out of focus even though both were the vice-captains of their own teams, because just as Kuroo hadn’t told Oikawa what happened with Futakuchi, Daichi hadn’t told Yaku that he had kissed Michimiya. 

* * *

That day both vice captains didn’t hesitate to scold their respective captains because apparently they hid more things from those they said, and as the balance bridges of the teams, they should know everything that involved the players so that they could carry the necessary actions to not let misunderstandings exist.

But words no longer reached. The misunderstanding had already begun to be spread through the different connections between the four houses. And while around him, students from different houses began to confront each other, a Ravenclaw sixth-year student didn’t understand nor was interested in knowing why, at that time, a fifth-year Hufflepuff was sitting with them while they were trying to have dinner. He was already in a bad mood to also have to stand things or people who exceeded his control. And the fact that the noisy person at his table carried the Hufflepuff’s shield and tie only worsened the state of the little patience he had left.

Instead of walking away, he had chosen to find himself at the Great Hall so that his housemates wouldn’t worry about him, only to run into a presence that turned out not to belong to his house.

Peace.

Akaashi needed peace, and he wasn’t getting it. Not even a little.

Ennoshita and Kenma, between who he was sat, suddenly began to fear when Lev continued to speak without realizing that the Ravenclaw quidditch captain held a more than serious expression, irritation being evident on his face. A black aura practically surrounded Akaashi, and he had been accompanied by it since Ennoshita had been forced to tell him why he had suddenly appeared to drink the orange juice Bokuto had offered him while he was studying. His attitude had changed completely from what had happened, and Ennoshita had been right after thinking that it was only the beginning of a new storm.

Akaashi barely spoke to them, the Quidditch practices had basically been entrusted to Ennoshita, and the sleepover nights to talk were no longer an option. The Ravenclaw had cut off all communication with anyone at the same time that he felt his interior begin to fill with frustration, disappointment, and anger. He had never been an expressive person and not very outgoing, but the change in his character had made a big difference. He preferred to go to sleep instead of talking to his roommates, he kept totally focused on the books in front of him instead of addressing the words in class, during meals he kept himself very quiet while Ennoshita, and even Kenma, who always preferred to stay quiet and busy with his electronic device, talked to each other to fail to try to make him speak, and during the practices Ennoshita was the one who spoke the most.

The entire Quidditch team had noticed the change in their captain's way of functioning, but his two best friends were the ones who were most concerned about him because they knew that Akaashi wasn’t only angry and completely annoyed, but also totally sad and unenthusiastic to leave their room, although ironically, at the same time he disappeared when they didn’t have classes together or practices to attend, which meant that Akaashi only made the effort not to remain in the room because he wanted to distance himself so as not to worry them, even though he only achieved the opposite. The melancholy was evident in his way of walking, and although few were the words he manifested, if it could be said that he articulated more than two, it was possible to notice the affliction that always accompanied his tone of voice. And although they hadn’t heard or seen him cry before, they wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

Akaashi had closed completely, and all because his heart had been betrayed.

"You're just smart." Lev continued. No one understood why he had sat at their table when all he did was insult them, and nobody also understood why someone hadn’t done something so far. Like telling him to leave or not to continue criticizing them. "Good grades, nothing else." He added.

For the first time since everyone had sat at the table for dinner, Akaashi finally took his eyes off the book in front of him to rest them on Lev while snugly Ennoshita began to beckon Lev to stop talking if he wanted to stay alive and not die at that precise moment.

“There is no doubt about why we beat you in quidditch.”

But he stopped trying to help him as soon as he heard him.

The looks of all those who composed the team, rested on him.

“How smart are you if you can’t even win?”

Lev had stopped attacking the Ravenclaw house to directly mess with the quidditch team. He had been insulting them since the dinner had started, and judging by Tsukishima’s and Kunimi’s expressionless faces, it was clear that they had been still longer listening to him criticize them and express aloud what some students thought. That they didn’t serve for anything more than to get the best grades and be in the honor roll.

Furthermore, to argue that it had been easy to beat them in quidditch meant expressing that those at the table weren’t good players and that the practices they continued to sustain were nothing more than a waste of time, that the captain and vice-captain of the team didn’t know how to give instructions as well as the others shorten them, and that they didn’t have what it took to win a quidditch match, much less the championship.

Akaashi pulled the wand out of the pocket of his tunic and pointed it at Lev before making a minimal movement, and everyone rested their eyes on him when the fifth-year continued to move his mouth but nothing was heard. He realized after continuing to gesticulate that his voice didn’t appear, and began to move his arms in an outrageous way while touching his throat after checking that his voice had disappeared and no matter how much effort he made, that it didn’t present itself. He pointed to Akaashi without question and then to himself, asking him to return it to him.

"You're right, we're smart." Akaashi began to say, and Ennoshita and Kenma opened their eyes like two big plates when they heard him, since possibly it was the first sentence composed of more than two words that he had released in several days. His voice sounded completely serious, and even somewhat forced, the tension being evident on his face. “I'm smart enough to make you shut up because you've done nothing but come here to insult us and criticize all our abilities. We didn’t ask you to come, and we don’t care what you think of us because you are not from our house. So if I were you, I would recommend you to go back to your table before you make me angry enough to use my intelligence and leave you voiceless forever."

Everyone remained silent as well as completely stunned since it was the first time the rest had seen and heard Akaashi angry.

There had been many times when they had managed to reach the limits of his patience during training. When Kenma had thought it was a good idea to fly while his hands and eyes were on the electronic device and therefore also his attention, when Suna had made the attempt to ask for permission to be absent so he could stay with Osamu, when Tsukishima had done nothing more than drop sarcastic comments instead of holding the bat with skill, when Fukunaga and Kunimi had started playing a sleight of hand on one of the breaks and therefore not hearing it was time to play again, when Sakusa had tried refusing the gloves that Akaashi had personally bewitched to assure him that they didn’t have any kind of bacteria, and when Ennoshita had almost hit one of the hoops for preferring to concentrate on reciting a serenade instead of focusing on the path he was marking with his broom.

Many times they had challenged his patience, but they had never made him angry.

Because they knew they shouldn’t. Because they knew they didn’t dare to achieve it.

Lev formed a pout with his lips before getting up and didn’t hesitate to run to his table, where they noticed he began to wave his arms in an exaggerated way because no words continued to come out of his mouth. The Ravenclaws rested their eyes on Akaashi, who kept his wand and returned to focus his eyes on the open book on the table, in which pages he didn’t take his eyes off even when the captain of the Hufflepuff team was the one to appear after Konoha forced him to get up and talk to him because he couldn’t cast a spell on someone from his team, although Konoha had also done it hoping that his best friend would stop being completely down after talking with the person who he still wanted more than anyone.

Bokuto caressed his own arm, and although at first Ennoshita looked at him in a bad way, he couldn’t continue doing so after noticing the way he observed the one sitting next to him. His golden gaze was off and the affliction in his expression was extremely notorious. Regretfulness ran through all his facial expressions.

“Konoha said that what you did isn’t right,” Bokuto mentioned in barely a whisper.

The Ravenclaw Quidditch team continued to be surprised when on that occasion, they were left impressed after being the first time they didn’t listen to Bokuto speaking loudly or in an animated way as he always did. As he hadn’t done several days ago.

He had been worried since Akaashi had left the Great Hall with Ennoshita, but his emotions had only continued to worsen after Akaashi completely rejected him after freeing himself of his contact as well as his presence. And at that moment, he only continued to feel worse when instead of speaking to him or making him feel that he existed, Akaashi simply pulled the wand out of his pocket and made the same movement as the previous one, and suddenly several students at the Great Hall turned around when Lev's voice was heard all over the place. He kept his wand, and continued to ignore Bokuto after not mentioning any words and avoiding observing him. Since for him, even though he felt that his stomach had shrunk even if he had barely eaten anything from his plate, Bokuto wasn’t even there, and everyone was noticing it. Even the victim of his attitude.

“Akaashi,” Again he spoke in a very low voice, barely audible. Ennoshita rested his eyes on the one next to him, who continued just as quiet and immobile, while Kenma felt the tension of the moment go through his body, beginning to guess the reason why he had previously found Akaashi awake without being able to sleep. "Akaashi." Bokuto repeated, trying again, asking with his eyes for his bluish gaze to meet his. His voice hardly raised.

They all felt uncomfortable when the black-haired one continued without saying anything, and for those who didn’t share a room with the team captain, understood why he had seemed to accentuate his silencing and why Ennoshita had lately chosen to decide the activities of the practices. Or rather, they understood by whom.

“Don’t ignore me.”

On that occasion Bokuto spoke louder, and a flurry of hope pierced his chest when the one he had been calling, stood up with the book closed in his hand. But Akaashi’s eyes didn’t leave the table. “Team, please forgive my actions, professors will surely subtract us a couple of points because I used magic in an unresponsible way.” Akaashi expressed, his voice sounding more and more forced, and although at that moment he turned to Ennoshita with his gaze still low, the other didn’t need Akaashi to observe him to know that he was trying his best not to allow his sight to blur and that he would only be able to enunciate the words that next left his mouth. "I'll be in the bedroom." It was all he added.

Akaashi left the Great Hall with the eyes of his team placed on him, as well as Bokuto’s, who felt that a huge and impenetrable wall appeared in front of him, and not because on that occasion Akaashi had created a magical barrier between them, but a real one. He formed a line with his lips to prevent them from trembling, and except for Kenma and Ennoshita who looked at each other, the Ravenclaws watched him return to his table and then rest his arms on the same with his head on them.

Akaashi wasn’t the only one with a completely broken heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Kenma thinks about the christmas night.


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I repeat again, thank you all for reading! I am aware that it is a very long story, so I really appreciate that you still continue to give my story and my writing a chance. Thank you a lot, I really appreciate it. 
> 
> And again I warn, in this chapter there's a panic attack.

Kenma took his eyes off the electronic device in his hands, to rest them on the group of people who were not so far away from him. The seven that wore ties with diagonal silver and green stripes as well as the Slytherin shield in one of the upper corners of their tunics, laughed with each other in an animated way, since although they were accustomed to seeing each other in the common room they shared as well as also in the Great Hall after sitting at the same table, with each one specializing in their respective subjects, it was rare that the seven would have the chance to cross paths in a corridor taking into account the different schedules each one of them had.

The Ravenclaw bit one side of his lower lip, still with the electronic device in his hands.

His fingers on the keys. But his mind elsewhere.

Along with his eyes on whom at that moment he focused.

_"I wish I could say I'm sorry, Kenma, but it's not like that."_

It meant that Kuroo didn’t mind accepting that he enjoyed hurting him.

He wondered if they were laughing at him, if he was the center of the conversation, the reason for the laughter. It had probably already happened many times before, so he didn’t rule out the possibility that the mention of his name had been the one in unleashing the round of laughter that had unfolded in the Slytherin’s seventh-year group.

Kenma let out a sigh, knowing that the laughter he heard from Kuroo was his real one and not the one he pretended to perform when he just wanted to get along with the person who had expressed a joke, hoping to impress him or make him laugh, since with time, he had learned to glimpse the occasions in which his reactions were true and those in which they were false. Knowing each other since they were little had given them the chance to get to know each other from head to toe, to read the other without needing to say a word, and to know what the other thought even if they tried to hide it. Kenma knew that many times Kuroo concealed his insecurities behind a vain posture, a confident attitude and a winning smile, which counted on that personality shell that hid his true thoughts, his anxieties and discomforts. He knew when he was pretending or not. Or at least he had thought that until last year.

_"To say I'm sorry would imply that I'm sorry for what I did, and I don’t feel that way."_

Hurting his feelings wasn’t Kuroo’s concern.

Kenma slid his gaze to Oikawa, who pretended to be offended by raising his chin and standing cross-armed, having stopped laughing after they had probably made a joke about him, or maybe even placed his name next to his.

He remembered having been with him several after being with Kuroo, as well as beginning to know him by words thanks to all the anecdotes Kuroo had told him about him. Although in any case, in one way or another he had ended up knowing about Oikawa, since there was no person in Hogwarts who was marginal to his charms.

He wasn’t surprised that he and Kuroo were good friends, since he believed that both were very similar in the way they developed. Although not only because Oikawa used to laugh and smile with generality, or wink as a joke or to be flirtatious, or because he could be completely immature when he proposed. But also because those gestures were rarely genuine, because after those winks or smiles, serious thoughts decorated his head just as Kuroo’s, because both were players that made their names to be important at the time of being present in the field of quidditch, since they had their respective skills and ways of thinking.

But just as he believed that Kuroo and Oikawa were alike, he also believed that Oikawa was similar to his own self.

He didn’t doubt the greatness of his intelligence, and the fear he could generate when studying his opponents to be able to discover any of their weaknesses, however small they were, as he did. Both waited patiently, collecting data, gaining information, to finally use that to make the most of all the weak points where they could hit. Both were fully observant, had a good sense of their surroundings, and could read the actions and emotions of others without much effort.

But he also believed that they were completely different.

Oikawa's talent was based on his athletic ability, on all the hours he spent on his broom, and on his capacity to use each of the players at his side to earn points and generate strategies, which he proposed starting to know how to get the best out of each of his teammates. He made his passes easy to receive, and didn’t hesitate to try to improve when he thought he could level up. While Kenma knew that for him, his way of working was only possible because his teammates helped him to keep the team in balance.

_"Even though you have completely distanced yourself from me, you have gone from being with me to dodging me in every way possible, to running away from me whenever you can and to loathe and hate me as well as to get away from me. Even if you don't want to see me and avoiding me has become your new hobby, I don’t regret it."_

Their friendship had been destroyed and Kuroo wasn’t interested.

Kenma's attention was focused on Iwaizumi when he hit Oikawa's head so that he would stop pretending to be offended, which was achieved because the brunet stopped maintaining that position to caress the part of his head that had been hit.

The Ravenclaw believed that Iwaizumi and he also resembled each other in a certain way, since even though the former reacted violently to Oikawa while he chose to roll his eyes or let out a sigh when Kuroo said or did something immature, that didn’t mean that Iwaizumi didn’t care about his best childhood friend as well as he. And although things had changed between him and Kuroo, he believed that the two acted as a pillar for the other while Iwaizumi took his respective place as moral counselor in case Oikawa, or any other person on the team, needed it; which had led him to be known as well, since everyone respected him, and his firm but protective attitude made him stand out in his own way. Not to mention that in addition, he had a goofy side that few knew.

Although, Kenma believed that there was also another side of him that many less people managed to detect. A part of him that didn’t stop thinking, in comparison with others at his side, wondering how much was enough or not, questioning himself and his skills although in the matches in the field of quidditch he proved otherwise.

_"What I did, I did because it's how I felt, and how I continue to feel."_

Making fun of him delighted him.

The laughter that stood out from Matsukawa and Hanamaki captured his interest.

Somehow or other, both always managed to get all eyes to rest on the Slytherin table when their laughter resounded throughout the Great Hall, or down the hall as in that moment. They always had fun being together, and didn’t hesitate to ally between them or with someone else, to laugh and make jokes. And Kenma wondered if they had a list of jokes entirely dedicated to him.

His fingers only ghosted on his electronic device. He remained completely serious as his golden irises remained intense, feeling like the image before him that he watched and heard, soon began to enter his body through his ears and eyes.

_"I know you hate me and I don’t blame you for it."_

Kenma wished he could hate him the way he thought he did.

But all he did was hate his own self for knowing he didn’t hate him.

His eyes fell on Sugawara when he hit the heads of the prankster duo so that they would stop attracting the attention of all after their laughter draw other’s interest, although a lively smile found its way into his face.

Kenma thought it was true that although Kuroo and Oikawa were probably the most wanted people in the house they belonged to, the gray-haired one didn’t stay behind. Sugawara was known for his nice physique as well as for his sweet personality, although Kenma didn’t doubt that sometimes he left aside those characteristics to allow other of his attitudes to steal the attention. The next game they would play would be against Slytherin, and although they feared Oikawa's abilities, and the duo he formed with Iwaizumi, as well as Kuroo's skills, Kenma knew that they should also be wary of Sugawara, since the fact that he wasn’t mounted on his broom, didn’t mean he didn’t continue to be part of the team, and therefore, playing.

He was one of the pillars of the team, didn’t let anyone down, and didn’t doubt that he was one of the reasons why Kuroo hadn’t given up on the idea of being captain despite having lost the first game and being pointed with the fingers for thinking that he was guilty for the defeat. He was perceptive, and smart to create strategies that others could use in the game. And at the same time he was certainly proud, because he knew that he didn’t need to be on his broom so he could help his teammates.

Kenma admired his way of thinking, since he didn’t hesitate to pay attention to opposing players to later implement tips that his teammates could use to defeat them, and he had no doubt that although Kuroo and Oikawa were the team leaders, Sugawara was also a fundamental member of the team.

What if he was one of his strategies?

_"But I want you to know that I won't stop looking for you just because you don't look for me. I will continue to be happy although now our relationship is based on you approaching me from time to time. I will continue to smile although your distance hurts, because while you are well, then I will be too. So if you want to talk to me for several days in a row or one day every two months, I will continue to be happy when we meet in a corridor or our eyes meet in the Great Hall."_

Then Kuroo didn’t care that the relationship they had always held, had become one in which communication was based on being suddenly. He didn’t care if they spent whole days without speaking. Kuroo was no longer interested in talking to him every day and every night. He had become accustomed to his absence, and forgetting him had been easy. Replacing him hadn’t been a problem.

And if his relationship with him had changed, why couldn’t happened the same with Daishou?

He remembered the letters sent by Kuroo in which he told him about one of his odious roommates that he found to be totally annoying because he never stopped looking for a way to make a joke or ruin his day in some way or another, either by making him stumble, throwing some innocent spell at him, throwing his pillow from his bed, or making both of them be scolded in class.

But he also remembered entering Hogwarts, and seeing that green-haired boy not getting so bad with Kuroo, although it was evident that they didn’t doubt to kick themselves under the table in the Great Hall as well as take off the food when the other was distracted.

After being sorted in Ravenclaw, he also remembered seeing how Kuroo had managed to cope without him for a whole year, as it was evident, from the way he laughed and talked animatedly, that in Slytherin he had met interesting and fun people, who shared his taste for jokes and gossip, but also his seriousness and determination. And he remembered being proud of him because he still remembered when before being sent to Hogwarts, Kuroo had told him that he was nervous because he had always been somewhat shy, although now it was the opposite, and that he didn’t want to remain totally alone since Kenma would stay while he would leave.

And he remembered telling Kuroo that he would quickly make friends.

That he would be fine.

That he would be sorted in the indicated house. The one that corresponded to him.

The electronic device slipped from his possession before Kenma began to play with the sleeves of his tunic at the same time he felt that his cheeks got hot after realizing that apparently for Kuroo wasn’t difficult to be without him, and that as he had assured him, he had known and made true friends in Slytherin. People to talk to and spend his time with, and maybe even make fun of others.

He remained totally serious, realizing how quickly Kuroo had replaced him.

Had it had to do with the fact that they belonged to different houses?

Being characterized by different traits had been what drew them apart?

Not only in different common rooms and therefore different parts of the castle, but at different levels where understanding and communication were no longer enough.

He knew that Slytherins were loyal, so that meant Kuroo would no longer be loyal to him?

_"I didn’t lie to your mom. The only thing I want to do is protect you, although like the big fool I am, it's obvious that I don't know how to do it, and doing the opposite works out incredibly well."_

No. He knew that maybe, houses had nothing to do with it.

Since Bokuto proved to be the exception.

He also remembered the way in which, through words written on parchment and carried by owls, Kuroo had told him about a strange-haired Hufflepuff that was totally crazy and intriguing, but that he didn’t had to fear because he would never replace him as his best friend.

More lies.

Considering that they almost didn’t even talk and he avoided Kuroo in all possible ways after what he had done to him, and that Bokuto continued being the person closest to him because it was evident the good relationship that the two of them maintained, Kenma understood that certainly the Hufflepuff had replaced him.

_"Ironically I think I'm the person who hurt you the most. But I just want to be honest, and I'm being."_

Kuroo never stopped causing him harm.

Whether it was with Slytherins, a Hufflepuff, or even people from his own house.

He certainly couldn’t blame Kuroo, since, who was able to take their eyes off when Akaashi walked down the hall with his serious but calm attitude, and attractive face no matter what expression he carried? He couldn’t blame Kuroo, but he had really believed that he would be his main sight.

And not to mention Tsukishima.

He could understand that no one could replace their attention on someone else when Akaashi was present, but had he really stopped being in Kuroo's field of vision in a definitive way?

Why did he only talk to him in corners of the corridors, where no one else saw them, while with Akaashi at the Great Hall, and with Tsukishima in the gardens, where all the Hogwarts students could see them?

Maybe the problem wasn’t Ravenclaw.

But he.

_"The only truth is that I love you, and unfortunately, it seems that my only way to prove it, is by hurting you."_

Kenma covered his hands with the sleeves of his tunic at the same time that he felt his throat closed and his stomach shrank. His electronic device was already abandoned as well as the level of the lost game, but had he only lost the game?

He knew that it had been useless to try to replace Kuroo with a simple technological box in which he could focus his eyes to prevent them from slipping towards the Slytherin table when he was at the Great Hall, in which he could rest his attention to pretend that nothing happened around him, that he didn’t expect to see out of the corner of his eye, black hair disheveled every time he walked through any of the corridors. He knew that it had been in vain to replace Kuroo with a simple electronic object, and that while Kuroo had been able to replace him without any problem, forget him completely, and only remember him to make fun of him, he hadn’t even been able to stop thinking about him.

He brought his hands to his chest at the same time he felt that all the air was removed from his body, and ended up sitting against the brick where he had been sitting to remain on the floor, with his knees close to his chest trying to get his hands to stop trembling after uniting them, and failing in the attempt because in addition his vision had become cloudy and he couldn’t control himself. He could always control the fate of the characters he played with as well as what level to choose to continue the game, but he wasn’t able to control himself or how he felt, nor the way his body reacted to thoughts that his head held. He began to breathe in an agitated way even though he didn’t feel any air in his lungs. He knew it. There was air, he could breathe, but then why did he feel that he couldn’t?

Suddenly a tie with the same colors as his appeared in front of him.

“Fukunaga and Kunimi fought and Sakusa shouted at them.” He listened.

All his symptoms left him in peace when he looked up to see Ennoshita sitting in front of him, watching him with a completely neutral expression after having uttered that phrase, which finally managed to reach his neurons.

“What?” Kenma asked, completely confused.

He didn’t know what was stranger to him. The fact that Fukunaga and Kunimi had fought with each other since both had shown to entertain each other during recesses in training without the needing to exchange many words, or the fact that Sakusa had shouted at them because he wasn’t a person of many words either, and he never liked to meddle in arguments or fights of others. His teammates simply didn’t were that way.

Ennoshita let out a big, dramatic sigh. “Now I don’t know how we will do to win without a team. Kunimi says he doesn’t want to play unless Fukunaga apologizes to him, and now Fukunaga also got angry with Sakusa because he got into the fight. I don’t know how they will sleep together considering that now the two of them are also fighting. I think I'll go to sleep with Fukunaga so that Sakusa can sleep with you and Akaashi, and there are no more problems.”

"But..." Kenma frowned slightly, “What you’re saying doesn’t make sense.”

Ennoshita scanned him with his eyes before simply giving him a short smile. “I know. I lied." He mentioned, and Kenma cocked his head, watching him confused because he didn’t understand why he had said all those meaningless words, since he knew that his housemates didn’t act that way. “Are you better now?”

Kenma continued looking at him confused, until after a few seconds, he let out an exhausted breath after realizing that Ennoshita had appeared because he had understood that he was having a panic attack, and that he had prevented him from continuing to feel the symptoms of it after distracting him with pure nonsense. He slid his eyes to his hands to realize that they were no longer trembling, and then he looked around to realize that the others continued with their respective conversations and activities as if the two of them weren’t there, until then he lowered his eyes towards Ennoshita's wand by his side to understand that he had made a spell of concealment, and that therefore, no one could see them.

And his shoulders relaxed when he realized that momentarily, they were apart from everyone. Again his gaze rested on Ennoshita when the same got closer to him, and slid his eyes to the hand that he offered, the one he held immediately with both hands to finally release another breath, understanding that given the case he couldn’t breathe, he wouldn’t be able to stay composed to take and feel Ennoshita’s hand, who looked at him patiently as well as seriously while Kenma observed his hands joined as if to stop doing so would make his lungs stop working.

Ennoshita had spotted Kuroo nearby, as well as Kenma unbalanced, so he didn’t hesitate to use his wand to hide the situation since he knew his housemate didn’t like attention, and approach to comfort him, because after they had known each other since they were eleven years old, he had learned what was the way to get Kenma to stop feeling attacked by his own mind and body.

“What do you say if we go for apple pie in a while?”

Kenma nodded slowly, and after checking that he was still watching their hands because it assured him that everything was fine with his breathing system, Ennoshita took his eyes off him to pose them in Kuroo, not needing for the one who still was holding his hand with his, to tell him that he must have had a panic attack because of him. He wasn’t the only one who had noticed the way Kenma’s relationship had changed with the Slytherin, but if all those changes began to affect Kenma's equilibrium, then he would no longer stay out of the situation. He already had Akaashi acting like a zombie so that Kenma would also find himself cornered by attacks that his own head produced. 

* * *

“Just go.”

Before he could refuse to do it, Hinata gave him the necessary push so that Kageyama would stumble and start to walk away from him, not without first giving him a furtive glance, to which the orange-haired one reacted smiling because he was already getting used to the fact that his look accompanied by a serious frown lost its effects to intimidate him.

Kageyama again rested his attention on the front and swallowed heavily.

He still didn’t know if he had done the right thing to mention to Hinata that although they weren’t friends and even had a bad past, he had been worried since most of the rest of his classmates had lashed out at Kindaichi since Lev had spoken about what happened with Kunimi and Futakuchi, being the Hufflepuff one of those who had started harassing him only because Futakuchi belonged to his same house. Even Hinata had dropped a few words. But Kageyama had never uttered a word, since he knew it didn’t matter that Futakuchi and Kindaichi belonged to the same house, since that didn’t mean that he had agreed with the spell against Kunimi, who also happened to be the best friend of the other fifth-year, which was why Kageyama hadn’t spoken nor lash out against him.

Hinata had forced him to talk to him to make sure he was okay after he had left completely offended while Lev had continued to talk about him until Kunimi furtively looked at them and also left, as well as afterwards, being Yamaguchi the one who scolded his housemate.

Kageyama approached Kindaichi in the hallway until he stopped because the same rested his gaze on him.

“What are you doing here?” Kindaichi asked with a frown, and at that moment the Gryffindor cursed Hinata, who admired the scene hidden behind one of the columns. “If you came to continue what your friends started, I'm not in the mood.”

“The other day I didn’t say anything and today I don’t plan on doing it either, you damn it.” Kindaichi looked at him blankly as Kageyama realized that he had already spent enough time with Tanaka for him to copy his vocabulary. "I know you care about Kunimi so you didn’t have anything to do." He added, and the Slytherin looked at him impressed, since he hadn’t expected to hear those words. “And no one should be against anyone just because we belong to different houses.”

It was true that their captains were momentarily distanced as well as other players from both houses to each other, but that didn’t imply that they should copy their actions or decisions.

Kindaichi chased Kageyama with his eyes when he chose to leave without adding anything else, at the same time that Kunimi appeared at his side, since he had been waiting for him to finish his class.

“Is everything okay?” The Ravenclaw asked him, interposing his gaze between them.

"Yeah," Kindaichi replied, watching Kageyama squeezing Hinata's head when the latter stopped hiding behind the column as he began to shout a string of insults at the taller. “Just... I just hope Gryffindor beats Hufflepuff.”

Kunimi smiled when he heard him, since he thought that phrase meant that finally his best friend was beginning to let go of the past. 

* * *

Yahaba allowed the confusion to be evident on his face, when Oikawa was the one to move a chair to sit in front of him at the library table. He remained with his plume inches away from the patch he had been completing until he had heard the noise of the chair moving, and the brunet taking place, who at that time watched him with his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Your arm." Oikawa expressed without saying anything before, and although he didn't take his eyes off him, Yahaba lowered his arm that still had a bandage, from the table, to rest it on his lap. “Did you and Tetsu-chan argue because Kenji-chan bewitched Kunimi-chan?”

Yahaba stared at him, since he hadn't expected Oikawa to suddenly appear in front of him to assure him that he had somehow learned about what had happened in the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw match.

“It already happened. It doesn't hurt.”

"Then you're answering yes."

"We actually argued because he, like you, named the person you both let back to the team. You can imagine why I reacted badly when Kuroo mentioned him.” Yahaba said, holding a totally fake smile at the same time that Oikawa looked at him seriously.

"I wanted to apologize."

The fake smile on Yahaba's face only continued to spread. "I know you had nothing to do with Kuroo's decisions. Sometimes it doesn't seem like it, but I respect you and him in different ways.” He added, being certainly sincere, since while his relationship with Kuroo seemed to be back in decline since he had decided to bring Kyoutani back to the team, he knew that Oikawa knew him more and therefore would have asked him how he felt about about bringing Kyoutani back to the team before doing it. “And I won’t ask you to ask for forgiveness, nor will I be angry at what Kuroo did, as long as you do your best to forget about what happened with Futakuchi.”

Oikawa raised an eyebrow at the same time that one of the corners of his mouth lifted. "You always remind me why you are my favorite kouhai."

"I thought it was Kindaichi." Yahaba said, looking down at the patch.

"He is Iwa-chan's." He saw the way Yahaba smiled sideways, just as that gesture disappeared from his face again.

Between what he had learned about what Futakuchi had done to one of the people who, despite not belonging to his house, continued to be an important person to him, and knowing that Yahaba wasn’t happy with Kyoutani's return to the team, he couldn’t avoid feeling that his job as vice-captain of the team captain wasn’t serving, since he was also not getting Kuroo to trust him to tell him why he was certainly down since the winter break. It seemed as if he wasn’t communicating with his own teammates, and he knew that it would be nothing pleasant if that continued to happen with the match against Ravenclaw so close.

"You know you can talk to me whenever you want." Oikawa reminded him.

"I know Oikawa-san." Yahaba assured him, although he continued writing on his patch.

Oikawa continued observing him, forming a line with his lips, but he knew that if he wanted to show that Yahaba was certainly his favorite kouhai, then he shouldn’t meddle when he wasn’t called as well as wait when the other wanted to exchange words with him, so although he preferred staying with him, he chose to get up to leave. And as soon as he turned his back, Yahaba looked up to follow him with his eyes.

He was grateful that Oikawa cared for him, because just as Oikawa had told him that he was his favorite kouhai, he believed that Oikawa was his favorite upperclasman, which at the time led him to hold a sideways smile on his face, which only lasted a short time, since hearing him talk about what was related to Futakuchi, matter he had already thought was left behind, as well as the reinstatement of Kyoutani, had only managed to make him be serious.

But his eyes finally stopped following Oikawa when again someone appeared in front of him, and at that moment, he was surprised when Ennoshita was the one to approach him.

The Ravenclaw understood that in spite of himself, he no longer approached Yahaba only to annoy him, so he also realized that his promise to Kenma no longer made any sense and that he was free to be able to approach the Slytherin as long as he had no ulterior motives that implied overthrowing that house’s team with his own words, which was why he had decided to appear when he saw Oikawa leaving.

“Can I sit or should I be careful that a certain person appears?”

Instead of answering, Yahaba made a movement with his hand to indicate that he was free to sit, so Ennoshita took place in front of him at one of the tables in the library. Both remained silent for a few minutes, in which Yahaba finished his homework and Ennoshita stared at him without concealing.

“Are you trying to find out if I cried to make fun of me? Because I inform you that I don’t cry.”

Ennoshita was glad to hear him sound as irritated as ever.

The irritation that his presence caused him specifically.

“If someone else that is not me makes you cry, I will kick their ass.”

Yahaba couldn’t stop a small smile from appearing on his face when he knew that he was saying it honestly. “Do you want to know something funny?” The Slytherin finally left his parchment.

“Why would I want to talk about you?”

Ennoshita complained when Yahaba poked one of his fingers with his plume.

"He thought we were dating." He said, letting an amused smile appear on his face.

The Ravenclaw pretended to be holding vomit inside his mouth as soon as he understood who he was talking about. “You... and me?” He made the most unpleasant grimace of his life, “Dating?” He stuck his tongue out and then laughed when he received a blow to the head with a book after pretending to be vomiting.

"If I had had breakfast before, I would have vomited when I heard him." Yahaba said.

“From just imagining it...” Again Ennoshita began to pretend to have nausea, so he won a second blow. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you aren’t my type." He added.

“Neither do you.”

“Yeah, I already figured out who your type is.”

He smiled triumphantly when Yahaba looked at him seriously.

Ennoshita really appreciated having sighted him studying in the library, since he knew that bothering him was the only way out for him to try to distract his own self. He felt that everything had begun to decline since they had returned from the winter break, of which more days had already passed than he wanted to believe. His best friends were both extremely closed in on themselves and didn’t talk to him unless it was absolutely necessary, because even speaking to him turned out to be an enormous and heavy effort. He was aware that both were suffering thanks to a particular person, while he was bearing with the guilt and consequences of his own actions.

_‘Of course I hate you!’_

He could remember perfectly the words he had told Tanaka.

Was he happy because he hadn’t been forced to confess his true feelings?

Yes.

Was he happy about the only sentence he had said?

No.

He didn’t doubt that Tanaka thought that his sentence had been totally true since in the end he had exclaimed it under the influence of the Veritaserum potion. He didn’t want Tanaka to think he really hated him, but he also didn’t want to explain why he had said that, since it involved explaining that he had avoided confessing what he really felt by fooling his thoughts and making them confuse love with hate, and if he couldn’t clarify the situation with his own self, for what could not clarify the situation, much less he could talk with Tanaka.

Ennoshita shook his head when he saw Yahaba moving his hand in front of him several times.

"Don’t bother me if you'll be silent later." The Slytherin looked at him.

“Do you feel like talking with me? You thrill me.”

Yahaba looked at him seriously when Ennoshita held both hands to his chest pretending to be excited.

“I only hope you weren’t thinking about casting a spell.”

The black-haired one looked at him confused, and didn’t know whether to distinguish if he spoke seriously or not.

"I heard what your captain did to the fifth-year Hufflepuff," Yahaba clarified.

“In Akaashi’s defense, Lev didn’t stop insulting us.”

“I'm not blaming him. Have you noticed that everyone around us has been somewhat tense?”

Ennoshita nodded without hesitation.

He didn’t remember the last time he had seen Bokuto smile, although he knew that he shouldn’t worry about him since because of him he had drunk the potion he had tried to give to Akaashi and therefore his best friend was feeling down because of him. He had also shouted at Tanaka that he hated him for the same reason, but he couldn’t deny that it was odd not to be startled because he still didn’t get used to the seventh-year shouting his best friend's name in a sudden way. There were countless times he had dropped a book, spit juice, or even tripped over the surprise that accompanied Bokuto's voice.

In addition, he had also been present when Kuroo approached the Gryffindor table, and although he couldn’t hear the words the two captains crossed, along with the vice-captain of the same house, he could assure that nothing good had come from that occasion to judge by the faces of all. And although his two best friends didn’t talk to him, Akaashi had mentioned that it had to do with the fact that those in the house characterized by the red color had heard about Futakuchi and apparently had criticized Slytherin in the process.

He had helped Kenma because he had recognized that he was having a panic attack, and he had only found himself at the library after they had looked for apple pie for him to try to make Kenma feel better.

Even he was tense.

He didn’t know what to do to be able to help his roommates. And neither to help himself.

"I wonder if the game will turn into a war." Yahaba mentioned.

Only a few days were left for their respective houses to face in the Quidditch field, and therefore, them too.

"I won’t have mercy on you just because we speak." Ennoshita assured him.

Yahaba smiled broadly.

"I'm glad to hear that because I won’t either." He stated.

The two watched each other, feeling the emotion build up in their bodies.

They were one of the few who were oblivious to the sudden tension that had spread between the four houses. They had always bothered each other and discussed without obstacles in case they had to solve a problem, so a healthy confrontation had always characterized them. And for the same reason, they weren’t at the center of the problem between the houses.

Slowly Ennoshita glimpsed how Yahaba remained serious.

"I don’t know if we will face each other."

“Why?”

"I don’t know if they'll choose me as one of the official beaters." Yahaba explained.

“Aren’t you training the best you can?”

“Well, yeah, but...” But he hadn’t taken into account that Kyoutani's sudden presence distracted him both outside and inside the Quidditch field, which explained why he wasn’t able to give his best effort when they were practicing. “It’s complicated.” He opted to express to not have to explain the whole situation to the one in front of him, who no matter what words he had chosen, didn’t need him to add much more to guess the reason for his deconcentration.

“I'll be angry if you're not chosen.” Yahaba watched him mildly impressed. “How many times do I have to repeat to you that I am the only one who can bother you?”

Ennoshita smiled when he got Yahaba to do it.

It was true that around them the relationships between the houses were weakening, but as long as they could continue to bother each other, and in the process assuring that they couldn’t allow themselves to be bothered by others, they would try to focus on the confrontation between them to prevent other problems to debilitate them too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Valentine's Day.


	56. Chapter 56

Valentine's Day.

The best day, or the worst date.

For the three sixth-years of Ravenclaw who shared a room, there was no need for them to express in words that they consider that day to be disgusting, and that they expected it to pass like any other normal day so that they could realize that the three of them thought the same way. Because although they had barely gotten up a few minutes ago and gone to sleep early, none seemed to have rested, and while Ennoshita didn’t feel good about himself, once he glimpsed that Akaashi didn’t get up to put on his uniform and start with his routine while Kenma remained looking at the ceiling instead of turning on the screen of his electronic device, he knew that he could no longer continue pretending that he hadn’t noticed the changes in their attitudes.

So he got up, and first went to Kenma's bed.

The one with dyed hair observed him completely asleep, being covered up to the neck, but he didn't continue lying down when he accepted the hand that Ennoshita stretched towards him to help him stop being extremely comfortable in his bed, and pulled him to stand in front of Akaashi's bed, who continued to watch his fingers while playing with them, pretending he didn't notice their presence. Ennoshita and Kenma exchanged glances with each other, and after each placed on one side of his bed, they decided to drop without any grief on the body and bed of the boy on whose face the surprise of the sudden invasion was evident.

"We won’t go to classes today." Ennoshita determined, and Kenma watched him while Akaashi continued with his gaze on his fingers. “The three of us need to speak urgently. And nobody will leave here all day. ”

"And if I'm hungry?" Kenma asked.

“Don’t make me want to throw you out of the bed.”

The shortest of the three rested his head on the bed when he heard him, knowing that in fact, if there was anyone who was never hungry, was him.

Ennoshita knew that Kenma would cooperate since the plan involved not moving or leaving the room, so his eyes were rested on the black-haired one who finally looked at him again.

Unlike what he had thought, Akaashi felt more comfortable with his two roommates invading his personal space and his bed than being completely alone and without a small space of his mattress. He didn't say a word, but to stop playing with his fingers and to rest his arms at his sides was enough for his two best friends to understand that he wouldn't throw them away or try to escape to attend classes, so Ennoshita smiled sideways while he laid down on his right, leaving his head on his chest, and Kenma curled up on his left.

What they needed was to stay away from everyone and be close to each other, and that was exactly what they were going to do. 

* * *

Oikawa poked Iwaizumi's cheek with his finger for the third time.

"He’ll hit you." Matsukawa warned him.

"And I will hit you if you don’t hurry." Hanamaki told the boy who pretended to be offended while he finished fixing his tie after listening to him.

Oikawa ignored them and again poke the other's cheek with his finger, making Iwaizumi growled after feeling that discomfort in his face and turned around.

Hanamaki took the opportunity to rest his lips on Matsukawa's for a second after realizing he would say something to Oikawa, and decided to take advantage of the distraction that he caused him to bite his lower lip and pull his hand to leave the room.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa exclaimed as soon as they were alone, and he sat on the aforementioned’s bed although he was completely ignored. “Iwa-chan!!” He repeated louder.

Iwaizumi, who had been awakened by both Oikawa’s actions and voice, let out a sigh of resignation. He was still covered up to the neck and only sighed as he continued with his eyes closed once he decided to answer him. “What do you want?” He asked in a hoarse voice.

Oikawa smiled widely. "It's Valentine's Day!" He exclaimed incredibly happy.

“Apparently you know the days of the week.”

Oikawa frowned as he formed a pout with his lips when he heard the words that his best friend made along with a hoarse and extremely serious voice, but he smiled amused when he decided to stretch on top of him and keep poking his cheek more repetitively while he stared at him.

“Why don’t you bother someone else?”

Iwaizumi pulled his hand out from under his sheet to look like he was frightening flies.

“Because I like to bother you.”

Oikawa smiled even more when Iwaizumi opened his eyes, but his smile was replaced by a grimace of pain when after a few seconds, the black-haired one took advantage of Oikawa being on top of him to move and make him fall on the ground for having been bothering him.

"I like it when you get violent, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said, deciding to smile in an entertaining way instead of complaining about being thrown.

"Go play with someone else." Iwaizumi said, referring to his immature attitude.

The brunet didn’t hesitate to climb on his bed again.

“You don’t want us to play Quidditch together anymore? You are cruel, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi covered himself completely when Oikawa fell on him.

“You're lucky I’m not a beater because I'd make a bludger end up in your face.”

“And it's because you're not a beater that the ball would end up in your face and not in mine.”

Oikawa began to pat the blanket without knowing what part of his body he was hitting.

"I'll make the ball crash with your mouth." He heard Iwaizumi say.

“I would prefer for your mouth and not the ball to crash with mine.”

Although he expressed that phrase along with a daring smile, Oikawa formed a pout with his mouth and stopped being on top of him to sit on the edge of the bed with crossed arms and frowning, after realizing that his best friend wasn’t in the mood to continue his game. Or at least that’s what he believed, until two arms wrapped around his waist to tug at him, and he started to laugh when Iwaizumi held him close to him, whom he looked at smiling as Iwaizumi caressed his cheek with his thumb.

“That smile of yours will make me get into so many problems,” Iwaizumi expressed looking at him.

And once that smile only increased, Iwaizumi wasn’t able to control himself, and kissed his gesture that soon corresponded to his affection. Oikawa settled down to be able to take his face in his hands and deepen the kiss that he finally managed to obtain from the one who had ignored him for trying to sleep.

"Happy Valentine for me." Oikawa crooned over his lips.

“Shut up.”

“Don't be cr—“

He couldn’t finish his sentence because he was silenced by lips that were already becoming familiar to his. 

* * *

 

Tsukishima was surprised when Yamaguchi embraced him, not because he wasn’t used to being surrounded by his arms, but because the gesture seemed somewhat exaggerated and desperate. Yamaguchi stopped keeping his head hidden between his shoulder and his neck to observe him slightly worried.

“We are not fighting, right? Because our captains don’t talk to each other, mine hardly speaks to us and yours ignores his existence all the time. Besides, Lev insulted all of you and Akaashi-san made him shut up, but the tension between our houses doesn’t mean there’s tension between us, right?”

The words left his mouth recklessly and hastily.

"We're in your room." Tsukishima told him to make him realize that the fierce atmosphere between their houses didn’t mean they were involved, but the other present misunderstood his words.

“You're right!” Yamaguchi exclaimed more than worried. He moved away from him to open the door of his bedroom and look both ways down the corridor, to then close it again and approach him. “There’s no one, we can get you out without anyone seeing you. Wait, what if someone sees us in the common room? I don’t want to be kicked, but I don’t want anything to happen to you either, Tsukki!”

The blond let out a sigh when he heard him, but didn’t hesitate to put his arms around him, making Yamaguchi remain impressed since he was the one who used to give him hugs.

“First, no one can kick you out of Hufflepuff. And second, nothing will happen to me." Tsukishima assured him.

The Hufflepuff smiled broadly when the blond kissed him on the forehead.

Although they kissed constantly, Tsukishima wasn’t one of the people who showed his love or made small details like those, so Yamaguchi took the opportunity to surround him with his arms and continue to smile pleasantly, since he liked being the only one who could see that side of Tsukishima. 

* * *

Another Hufflepuff fifth-year student received blows in his stomach even though that day there was supposed to be love in the air and no violence.

“Yaku-san! You hit my stomach because you don’t reach my head?”

Lev even received a stronger blow after mentioning those words, and the Gryffindor in front of him crossed his arms after being satisfied once he saw the grimace of pain on the Hufflepuff’s face.

“Who do you think you are to go through life insulting Ravenclaws? That's not right, Lev.”

Although the fifth-year approached him with the hope of receiving another gesture in addition to hits, Yaku didn’t doubt to attack him as soon as he saw him. Not only had he learned that those in his house had asked him not to open his mouth on the matter with Futakuchi and he had done it anyway, but also because it had caused the fifth-years to fight with each other because he and Koganegawa began to be against Kindaichi even if Kunimi had warned them that everything was fine, and also because he had heard that Lev hadn’t hesitated to sit at the Ravenclaw’s table to do nothing but insult them, earning Akaashi to silence him for a few minutes.

"They didn’t beat us in the Quidditch match." Lev said, still recovering from all the punches.

“Our houses will face each other in the next game. Will you insult me in case I lose?”

“In case you lose? Of course you will lose, Yaku-san.” His arm was the one to win a blow, and he formed a pout while rubbing his arm with his hand. “It's Valentine's Day, Yaku-san! You don’t have to hit me, but love me!”

“Then stop saying and doing stupid things.”

Yaku continued to remain with his arms crossed, and raised an eyebrow at the sight of a huge smile on Lev's face.

“You didn’t deny you love me!” Lev exclaimed more than excited.

The seventh-year squeezed his lips. He looked exasperated at the smile that decorated Lev's face, and although he turned to walk across the aisle and sit on the nearest bench, he couldn’t get rid of the one who didn’t hesitate to follow him and sit beside him.

“You love me, Yaku-san?”

“Do you love me?”

“Of course!”

Yaku rested his eyes on him.

Lev was so clumsy that it caused him sweetness. He was looking for a fight with people from other houses while insulting them by sitting on their own table, he was immature and made comments without meaning, and direct to the point of having received so many blows from him that he couldn’t even count them himself. Lev was always looking for him even though he had rejected him at first, and without having realized the distance he had tried to put between them after the winter break. He was someone extremely innocent who never realized the effects that both his words and actions caused, and always held an entertaining in his face.

It was impossible not to love him.

"Then I love you too!" Yaku assured him loudly, exasperated.

That smile that attracted him so much, only increased. Lev didn’t hesitate to put his arms around him, and he gained a new blow when he kissed him without caring that they were in the middle of the hall. 

* * *

“I love him.”

The words that Bokuto said were hardly compressible after being looking down and with his hands forming fists that remained on his cheeks.

"I know." Kuroo said.

“I miss him.”

"I know." He repeated.

Bokuto's eyesight became cloudy and he bit the inner side of his lower lip.

"I want him to stop ignoring me." His voice broke after expressing those words.

Kuroo was used to his best friend’s sudden change of mood as well as the lack of his entertaining smile and his deflated hair when he was sad, but since they had known each other and despite having seen him down after some lost quidditch game, the Slytherin could swear that he had never seen him so depressed as at that moment.

"I know." He said again, caressing him on the back because it was the only thing he could do.

Words no longer served with him.

Bokuto hadn’t smiled again since Akaashi had stopped talking to him.

His entertaining attitude, as well as his pleasant smile and energetic personality, had disappeared once he understood the serious mistake he had made after trying to make Akaashi drink the potion that would force him to tell the truth about his feelings, only to have Ennoshita drinking it and therefore, so that the one for whom the potion had been stolen, would begin to avoid him and pretend that he didn’t exist.

Bokuto was completely sad, and even though only one person was angry with him, he felt completely alone. He didn’t concentrate on class not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t stop thinking about the sixth-year. He had lost the energy to play Quidditch not because he was physically hurt, but because he was emotionally in pain. He didn’t smile or unfold in the way he typically did because the only person who he wanted to hear him, wasn’t there to listen to him anymore. Because the person whose attention he wanted to call and interest to capture, pretended that he didn’t exist. He was tired because he couldn’t sleep after getting used to sharing his bed and feeling safe and satisfied when a head rested on his chest and arms were wrapped around his waist. He missed being accompanied and feeling able to achieve whatever he wanted. He missed being happy and not feeling that his world continued to collapse with each passing day.

He missed being able to admire that bluish look that no longer looked at him.

He was sorry, but Akaashi didn’t give him the opportunity to tell him or show it to him.

Kuroo watched him when Bokuto rubbed his eyes, failingly trying to make his tears stop. He had assured him that he would be angry with him in case he did something that involved potions, but since he had observed the way Bokuto had found himself since he had done the contrary to his words, he hadn’t been able to scold him when it was clear that his best friend wasn’t okay.

"It's not that I don't trust him, you know," Bokuto said, and Kuroo continued to watch him when he looked down. “It's just that...” He seemed to be trying to find the right words, those that would allow him to express why he had done what he had done. “You know what my family is like,” He began to said, and Kuroo's face became more than serious when he heard his words, finally realizing that he had found himself right in thinking that Bokuto's parents had had to do with his change of mind regarding his relationship with Akaashi. “I'm aware of how I am, okay? I'm always looking for people’s reconfirmation around me because I don't like feeling rejected, because the only thing that I can think is, if my own parents don’t even love me, why would someone else do it?”

Kuroo watched him, beginning to worry. He knew that Bokuto although always showed his best facet, had problems like everyone else. He knew that his parents didn’t treat him in the best way, and even for the same reason they had spent one of the winter recesses in his house. He was aware that Bokuto had often told him that he didn’t maintain the best relationship with his parents, and that not having siblings didn’t help him.

"And he's so perfect, you know," Bokuto continued, again wiping a tear from his face. “He can have the person he wants, anyone. He is beautiful, smart, he can literally have anyone because anyone would give everything for him, but he chose me. But I am insecure, and I began to think that if Akaashi doesn’t tell me that he does love me, then he acts the way he does with me, not only with me. I know that expressing himself is difficult for him and that's why I want him. He's different.” He said sniffing, “You always hug me and say you have fun with me. Oikawa is always like that too, and everyone in my house all the time tells me how important I am or how much I make them laugh, that I have Hufflepuff’s characteristics on my back. But he doesn't, you know, he doesn't tell me. And I don’t reproach it to him, because I fell in love with him because he is different. But my insecurities told me that there was something lacking, that I needed to hear him say he loves me because I'm dumb and all the time I'm looking for reconfirmation of what others think and say about me,” He said, scratching the back of his neck, “I didn't do it for him, but for me. But now it's clear that I ruined everything.”

Kuroo felt sorry for him because he knew how much Bokuto loved Akaashi, but he also understood that Akaashi was ignoring him and didn’t hesitate to show that he was angry and therefore distant, since knowing that he had almost been forced to confess his feelings because for him it wasn’t easy for him to express his own self, it wasn’t fun to think about. He understood why Akaashi didn't want to see Bokuto as well as why Bokuto wanted to see Akaashi, as well as he knew that his best friend's strengths would continue to decrease in case Akaashi continued to reject him, since that was what hurt Bokuto the most, that he ignored him and didn’t want to be near him.

Bokuto rested his arms on the table and then hid his head between them at the same time he let the tears run down his cheeks as he had been accustomed to allow for the past few days. He didn’t like to be ignored, he didn’t like to feel alone, he didn’t like to sleep without company, and he didn’t like to know that Akaashi didn’t want to know about him.

“And now my parents are right and Akaashi will never want to be with me.”

Kuroo formed a pout when he heard him. He couldn’t remember how many times he had seen him and heard him cry, and he didn't even want to think about everything his parents had probably told him when Bokuto might have told them that his feelings were reciprocated, but he wouldn't be able to help him try to remedy the situation unless Bokuto was honest.

He rested a hand on his back. “Bo, what did you talk to your parents?” He asked him.

Bokuto simply rested his chin in his hands to observe the table, his eyes still being accompanied by tears.

“You know that they don't care who I like, if I’m gay and I'm not interested in girls. They are only interested in the purity of the person's blood.” He began to respond, feeling worse because remembering his conversations with his parents only made him feel even more decayed. “I told them about my relationship with Akaashi and the first thing they told me was that he was surely with me because our family is also pure blood, and because he couldn't get anyone better. They assured me he doesn’t even love me, because he never told me.” Bokuto explained, and stopped resting on the table to straightened up and keep his head down, watching his hands on his lap. “They said it doesn't matter if I'm good at playing quidditch, and that it would be a matter of time for Akaashi to find someone else. You know what his family is like too.”

Kuroo didn’t need him to add more words, since if there was someone who understood the way in which Bokuto's parents and those of Akaashi thought, it was himself considering that his parents were also the most important people in the magical world, and although they didn't think that blood purity was important, they were constantly surrounded by those speeches.

His family and Akaashi’s were probably the most important, and for the same reason they hadn’t hesitated to ignore each other even though they had both known they were in Hogwarts until it was impossible because Bokuto had presented them to each other, since they had always known that their parents wanted them to get along because they somehow represented them, and because they were the faces of the next generation. And for the same reason Kuroo knew that Akaashi's family were the kind of people who thought magic in the generations was the most important, while his parents were the kind of people who didn't care, since they had proved the same after settling in a neighborhood with non-magical people, and deciding to become friends with Kenma’s family, who were half magical and half not.

He also knew that Bokuto's parents thought like Akaashi’s, so he hadn’t been surprised to hear him say what his parents had told him, since in addition, those believed that connections were extremely important, and therefore, if Akaashi had noticed bokuto, it was only because their families were completely magical. And for the same reason he hadn’t been surprised that Bokuto's parents had succeeded in him beginning to have doubts about his relationship with Akaashi, since although Akaashi had never shown himself to think like his parents, it was difficult to ignore the words of people who were supposed to be the ones who loved him most.

“I just needed to listen to Akaashi say that he loves me to be able to silence my parent's voices, but I ruined everything and now I don't even have Akaashi anymore.” Bokuto bit his lower lip, and after closing his eyes for a second, a new tear rolled down his cheek. “I don't know what the truth is anymore. The only thing I know is that if he continues to ignore me and my relationship with him is not solved, I will no longer know what to do because I love him and that will never change. I just love him.” Again he crossed his arms to rest them on the table and hide his head between them, thinking that nothing made sense if neither his parents nor Akaashi loved him.

Kuroo was conscious that Bokuto required attention and that he had to be behind him all the time, assuring him that he was his best friend and that he liked his company, which he didn't mind doing because Bokuto didn't hesitate to be by his side when he was attacked by his own insecurities. Each person had their own monsters, and Bokuto’s had only outsourced in the wrong way because his parents had taken advantage of the winter break to eat his head. And he had grown tired of seeing his best friend that way, acting differently and sadly only because his winter break hadn’t been the best, so he had decided that if Bokuto hadn’t achieved anything, then he would. 

* * *

“Suga.”

The Slytherin remained motionless when he recognized the voice of the person who called him.

Suga wasn’t used to not knowing what to do when he stopped persevering for a goal. And since his goal of being happy along with Daichi had been hampered, during the past few days he had acted as he could after realizing that his feelings had stopped pushing him to be behind the Gryffindor as his thoughts had stopped asking him to look for him.

It was the first time he had surrendered, and he didn’t like the feeling it caused him.

And he thought that Daichi had done the same, until he heard him.

He turned to see him. The feeling of knowing he had given up didn’t please him, so he had always left whenever he had been close to him just to remind him that the two of them together was a goal he should no longer see as possible. And he thought that Daichi would be happy after having managed to get rid of him so he could be with the other person with whom he had seen him kissing, so he remained surprised when he saw that he had an appearance similar to his own.

Big circles under their eyes as well as their shoulders were down.

And Daichi was surprised when Suga didn’t escape from him.

The Slytherin had stopped speaking to him, so he felt lucky once he saw that he remained quiet to see him instead of leaving when they were both in the same place, and decided not to miss that opportunity.

“Why didn’t you tell me you saw me kissing Michimiya?” He asked him.

Reality hurt Suga.

“Why do you think so, Daichi?” He asked instead.

"I thought you were mad at me for the stupidity I said about your house, not for having seen me with Michimiya." The gray-haired one raised an eyebrow at the sound of his words. “I found out from Yaku that Oikawa told him that for that reason you didn’t want to see me.”

"It was because of what I saw you doing, and from what I heard you said about my house." Suga clarified.

“To say that I'm sorry won’t be enough, right?”

Suga crossed his arms. "No, it won’t." He determined.

Daichi approached him, but stood still when Suga stepped back.

“Then what do I have to do?” He asked, seeming to be desperate. He had already spent too much time moving away from Suga before so that he was the one to avoid him now, although not because he felt nervous to speak to him, but because he really wanted to avoid him.

“I want to know why you kissed her. Have you always been doing that? Kissing us both? Making me sure you loved me when you told the same things to her too? To hurt myself all the time hoping that I didn’t find out?”

“No! I didn’t! I only kissed her once." Daichi continued speaking when he felt the look of mistrust Suga threw at him. “I kissed her because she confessed how she feels about me. And I replied that I feel the same, but for another person. For you. She's very close to me, Suga. I didn’t want to hurt her, so I figured a kiss wasn’t a big deal. It didn’t mean anything. It only means something when I kiss you.”

“How do I know you're not lying to me?”

“Have I ever done it?”

Suga pressed his lips together when he knew that only a negative response to that question was possible. It was true that Daichi had hurt him, but if there was anything he had never done, it was lying to him.

"I'm sorry." Daichi expressed despite having heard that apologizing wasn’t enough. “I'm sorry for saying bad things about your house. I'm sorry for criticizing you and the others. I am sorry for having made you believe that you aren’t the only person for me, and I regret that you have seen me kissing her because I would be just as angry and annoyed if I had found myself in your same situation. I don’t want anyone else, Suga. I don’t want to kiss anyone else. I only want to be with you. I hate that you don’t talk to me and that you don’t want to be with me, I hate not having seen you during these days, and I hate to know that it's only my fault that you don’t want to.”

Suga looked down. He also hated that because of Daichi's fault he had to get away from him. He also hated that he had to stop speaking to him because he couldn’t do it for fear of starting to cry in front of him about how angry, frustrated, disappointed, and sad he was. He also hated not being able to spend his days by his side and conversing with him about any topic that arose between them, not being able to kiss him or hug him or stay close to him. And he also hated himself because his goal hadn’t yet been low.

He still hadn’t given up on the idea of being happy together with Daichi.

“And I hate to know that I did that.”

Suga knew that Daichi was referring to the tear that left his eyes, and what he understood was that Daichi didn’t plan to surrender with him either.

The Gryffindor had always been characterized by having a firm character and great resistance. He was a very nice and cool-headed person, and anyone who knew him could assure that his heart was pure as well as his intentions. But it was also easy to say that he never gave up easily, and that his perseverance had led him to become the great person he was, as well as to be elected captain of the Quidditch team and prefect of his house. His insistence always led him to give his best and he never gave up even if the situation demanded for him to do so. For him, it wasn’t an option to be overwhelmed before fulfilling what he proposed because both his mental and his physical effort insisted that failure wasn’t a possibility that existed for him. He was strong because he always continued to resist even though everything around him was collapsing, and his perseverance never left him. A Gryffindor always fought for what he really wanted, and every time he tried to get it.

Suga didn’t move away when Daichi rested his hands on his cheeks.

The two belonged to different houses, but both were the same.

They never gave up, and fought until they got what they wanted.

"I'm really sorry I hurt you." He said.

Suga watched him, knowing that Daichi wasn’t able to hurt him that way, to make him believe that he was like any other more person in the pile, since he had also made it clear that if he was willing to lie to him, then he was also willing to have the entire Slytherin house against him. And Oikawa’s and Kuroo’s threats weren’t taken lightly just to continue lying.

"If you really feel it, then prove it to me."

Daichi ran his finger over the mole on his face that he loved after erasing a tear that managed to leave the corner of his eye, and didn’t hesitate to rest his lips on Suga's.

It was a tender, soft, and delicate kiss. They both felt that the stress and sadness that had stuck to them finally left them to be replaced by a warm feeling they already knew. Suga wrapped his arms around his neck, and formed a sad smile when Daichi rested his forehead on his before leaving a kiss on the gesture on his face.

“I'm really sorry." He repeated with his hands still caressing his cheeks.

“I'll give you a lot of time to make up for it.”

Daichi smiled sideways after hearing him, and again he joined his lips to his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Who hurts the most to lie?


	57. Chapter 57

Bokuto was clumsy, loud, annoying, too energetic, and his mental age was doubtful sometimes.

At least that was what Kuroo thought.

But he also believed that Bokuto had the biggest heart.

Remember that he was an extremely sensitive person was easy to forget when he was always smiling, cheering others, and being the center of attention. But for him, it had been difficult to realize that part of Bokuto continued to exist after seeing his smile be replaced by tears, and his emotions by sadness. And although he didn't think what Bokuto had done was okay, he thought he deserved another chance, another opportunity to express himself.

Mistakes were solved by talking.

And Kuroo had affirmed that thought after speaking with Daichi the day before. He understood that he and Suga were no longer fighting, and that they were together again because they had spoken and decided to give themselves a new opportunity.

That was what the Slytherin believed was necessary for his best friend.

Talk. And an opportunity.

He knew from personal experience how important an opportunity could be, since since Kenma hadn’t given him a chance to approach him, he didn’t doubt that Bokuto felt the same way he felt every time Kenma ignored him. It was frustrating, annoying, and sad. And he had decided that if he couldn't fix his own problems, then at least he would try to solve his best friend's. A high wall had been imposed between his best friend and the boy he approached after seeing him in the hall waiting for his class to begin, and if he had to be in charge of making the wall be transformed into a bridge, then he would do what was necessary to achieve it.

Akaashi only looked at him for a second when he realized he was at his side.

Bokuto was the most unbearable person when he proposed, but that didn’t stop him from being his best friend, and that he would do everything possible to see him smile again.

"I know I'm one of the last people you want to see right now," Kuroo said at the same time Akaashi looked down as soon as he appeared in front of him. "But I'm also the first who told Bokuto not to get involved with potions." The Ravenclaw looked up when he heard him, and although they weren’t closed, it wasn’t easy for Kuroo to recognize the same expression of sadness he had become accustomed to seeing on his best friend's face. “I know he ruined everything, I know. But I also know that he is extremely sorry for what he did, as well as that you are not giving him a chance so he can tell you.”

“What’s done is done.”

Akaashi didn't even know how he was able to formulate that sentence.

His voice had been so many times about to break that he had chosen to speak as little as possible, although the few words he spoke at the time were enough for Kuroo to also, recognize that lack of strength in his voice that disappeared every time his best friend told him about how sad he was.

"A mistake, Akaashi. Have you never made a mistake?” Kuroo couldn’t even remember all he had done himself. “My best friend was wrong. And he recognizes it. Recognize that he has annoyed you, that he has bothered you, and that he has ruined what he had with you. And that's what matters. That he knows how bad he has acted and that he is completely sorry for what he did. I know him as much as you, maybe even less. But I know him and he's still my best friend anyway. I don't ask you to act as if nothing had happened and run to throw yourself in his arms, but I do ask you to give him a chance to be heard, Akaashi. I no longer recognize him. He doesn't smile, he doesn't laugh, he doesn't bother me with his annoying and high tone of voice. My best friend seems to have been replaced by someone else, and everything is because of what he has done to you. And I know you think the same. So that's all I ask.”

Akaashi didn’t change his expression, nor did he release a word as he listened.

It couldn’t be said that the Slytherin knew him, but for him it was no surprise to be able to express that Akaashi felt the same way as Bokuto. They didn’t need to be extremely close for Kuroo to glimpse that Akaashi was the person who knew Bokuto the best, and who was most willing to bear with him no matter how many defects he had.

And Kuroo held on to that.

"You once told me that you can learn from mistakes," Akaashi said, totally serious and with his gaze resting on the books in his hands. “But that doesn’t mean that they should be committed because there’s no always a good lesson.”

"I only ask you to give him a chance to speak." Kuroo asked.

Akaashi looked up again to watch him for a second, but then he didn’t hesitate to leave as soon as his class started and therefore had the excuse to enter the classroom.

Kuroo watched him, knowing there was nothing else he could do. He could be the one who built the bridge between them but not the one who was willing to cross it, so he walked away once he finished doing what he had intended, hoping that the few exchanged words would make Akaashi change his way of acting, and thinking. 

* * *

It was impossible for Akaashi to concentrate during his class. He couldn’t deny that he had certainly been distracted during the last few days although he was still able to answer the questions the teachers asked, but this time it was totally impossible for him to focus on the new concepts learned when his thoughts only used its strength to fight between them.

He was glad that the day before Ennoshita had determined that it was a day for the two together with Kenma to do nothing besides staying together and laying in his bed. Embraced, emotionally holding themselves while listening to each other say why the three were one more decayed than the other, making sure they were patient with each other. He had been the one who had spoken the least, but that hadn’t taken away that he had understood anyway why his best friends seemed to be like him, and that they in turn understood what was going on in his head, although not even he understood himself.

Akaashi knew that demonstrating what he felt had never been an easy task, and only those who could fit his personality were those whom he could call best friends. Ennoshita and Kenma never doubted his few words and understood that it wasn’t necessary for him to release a word because he could be understood even if he didn’t prove it.

His expression was serious, and he had no reason to explain it.

He remembered that he had always been the type of person that felt but didn’t prove it, the type of person who, despite having a heart, seemed not to have it. He had always been of few words, but many feelings. Since being silent didn’t imply that his heart didn’t exist or that he didn’t have emotions that pounced on him without mercy. He felt like any other person, only that he didn't show it the same way. Expressing himself cost him because he had never done it, and because doing so meant taking a new step for him.

And having diminished his chatter during the last days, had only caused his emotions to increase.

He was no longer angry with Bokuto for what he had done, and he even understood.

He understood that the seventh-year hadn’t seen another option but to give him a potion to confess his feelings, because he understood that being with him meant never knowing what was going on in his head or the emotions that altered his heart. He knew he was a person who didn’t prove what was happening to him and for the same reason he had always wondered why Bokuto had chosen him.

Why among so many people, he had been his first choice.

He had thought that Bokuto had chosen him although from the beginning of classes he had been warning him about his lack of emotion, although then those words had become sentences that had made him feel confident enough to kiss him on his birthday and in that way to assure him that he wasn’t the only one of the two who felt something for the other. And he had believed that Bokuto felt the same way for him even if they didn't have the same personality.

But he had been confused.

And for Bokuto he wasn't enough. He wasn’t enough because his emotions weren’t.

His inability to express himself have filled his patience, which had been demonstrated when he had tried to give him a choice so that he could confess what he really felt. Feelings he had, but apparently didn’t know how to express in the necessary way for Bokuto to trust him.

Akaashi walked alone down the hall once his class ended, with his eyes fixed on his shoes and his mind being a complete mess. Kuroo had asked him to give Bokuto a chance, and when at that moment he looked up to glimpse an amber gaze that had landed on him, he had decided.

Bokuto remained motionless when he recognized those blue eyes that didn't observe him in the same way he was used to. It was the first time in days that Akaashi noticed him, recognizing his existence instead of pretending that he didn’t exist or didn’t listen to him when he spoke to him. And before he could tell, he found himself in front of him.

Because his instinct always told him to approach him.

That only by his side could he be happy.

"Akaashi."

The sixth-year had decided to give it a try.

And an opportunity to take advantage of that last chance.

Akaashi had lowered his eyes again to continue observing the ground because he knew that the broken and not at all excited voice of the one in front of him was only his fault.

“I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I really am sorry.” Bokuto didn’t doubt to say.

Akaashi understood why he was apologizing, but he also understood that he also had to apologize for not being who Bokuto needed him to be.

"I don't need you to tell me what you feel for me. I know what you feel for me.”

If he knew then why had he tried to give him the potion?

He knew Bokuto only said those words to try to make him feel better.

But there was no case.

They both knew it was a lie.

A lie that Akaashi could never turn into a truth.

"I love you, and nothing else is needed."

Akaashi envied the way in which Bokuto could function, in the way he could express himself without any obstacle, show his thoughts no matter what it was. But a relationship involved two people, and Bokuto couldn’t be the only one to give without expecting anything in return. And that had become clear with him trying to give him the potion.

No matter how much he assured him with words, his action manifested another reality.

“Please talk to me.”

For what? So that after a few days the same thing happened again?

Bokuto would get tired of him as soon as he realized that his way of being would never change.

"You don't love me anymore?"

Akaashi believed that was his chance.

His last chance to approach Bokuto because he had decided that he wasn’t enough.

Kuroo had asked him to give him a chance, so he had decided that he would give Bokuto a chance to finally get rid of him and not have to continue supporting his lack of expression.

"If you don't love me, I need you to tell me. I don't need you to say that you love me, but if you don't love me, I need you to say it so I don’t continue believing otherwise.”

Kuroo had previously asked him if he had made a mistake.

And he had done it. Believing he was enough for Bokuto had been his mistake.

Believing he could be by his side without being forced to show how he felt had been his worst mistake. Believing that Bokuto would settle for the little caring gestures with which he had begun to feel comfortable to perform, weren’t enough.

His effort wasn’t enough.

His love wasn’t enough.

He wasn’t enough.

"I promise I won't bother you anymore if you don't love me."

Akaashi promised himself not to bother him anymore.

“Just look at me. Please. Even if it's to tell me that you don't love me.”

Bokuto was desperate, in need of getting his attention, his love.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me, only then I will leave you alone."

His inability to show his feelings would no longer be a nuisance to him.

"Look at me." Bokuto asked.

Akaashi believed that there was no point in continuing to hoard him when it was clear that his attitude wasn’t enough to make him happy, when it had become clear that his difficulty in expressing himself would only make Bokuto distrust him enough to be taken to try to make him drink a potion to confess his feelings because he wasn’t able to do it himself. He believed that he was a selfish person because he wanted to keep him when he could only feel insecure about the round trip of emotions that a relationship should have.

He wanted to be the right person for Bokuto, but he wasn't enough.

Akaashi finally looked up.

How could he make that amber look shine again?

Allowing it to shine on its own. Freeing him from his insufficient bluish gaze.

He opened his mouth, but the sudden look up made him realize that he was with Bokuto, with that person in whose arms he only wanted to be surrounded with, on whose lips he wanted to rest his, on whose side he wanted to sleep because he didn’t like the sensation of coldness that sleeping alone caused him. But he swallowed hard when he remembered that he should speak not for him, but for Bokuto. Not to be selfish, not to continue confusing him. So he opened his mouth again, feeling like talking again turned out to be an extremely difficult task.

"I don't love you." He was able to lie.

What was the point of showing his feelings when they weren’t enough?

Bokuto took a deep breath when he heard him, but instead of concentrating on the blow that those words meant to his heart, he chose to focus on Akaashi, looking for any detail that would allow him to realize that it wasn’t real, that he didn’t finish saying those words because that wasn’t true.

"I don't believe you." He dared to say.

Akaashi pursed his lips as soon as he heard him.

Why, if with just looking at him, he knew that he was lying to him, then in the same way he hadn't trusted all the kisses and hugs he had given him to assure him that he really did love him?

He didn’t bring his books even closer to his chest because he knew that Bokuto would take that movement as if to confirm that he was lying to him, nor did he purse his lips or frown. He just continued to be serious, and held his chin up. He had to do it. No matter what happened to him, he just had to think about Bokuto.

"I." He started, feeling his stomach begin to shrink because uttering those words caused him repulsion. “Don’t.” He continued, although his voice wasn’t the same as always after sounding forced. “Love.” He didn't allow the tension to abandon his facial features. “You.” He finished lying at the same time he felt his heart assure him that those words had been the worst lie he had ever spoken.

Bokuto watched him intensely, but nothing in Akaashi changed.

And from one second to the other, his entire world collapsed. He felt that something inside him vanished, and that he finally gave up after having been suffering all those days, receiving blows from everywhere. Those four words pushed him into the final abyss, and he wasn’t able to remain watching the person he loved the most and who had just rejected him as well as destroying his heart, so he ran away from there with tears running down his cheeks, crying because of how sad he was, and feeling that he would never be happy again. Without realizing that instead, the words he had heard had been nothing more than a great lie, because although Akaashi had expressed that he didn’t love him, he remained completely still in his place, with his gaze fixed on his back, and his eyes beginning to cloud.

A bridge had been built, only not to be crossed by anyone. 

* * *

Ennoshita continued with his back against the wall and his arms crossed, while in front of him, Kenma remained standing with his hands together in front of his belly, playing softly with the sleeves of his hoodie. The two were with their eyes on the same person, who despite being at night, was sitting away from one of the doors of Hogwarts, in the middle of the grass that covered the surroundings of the castle, and with his eyes probably set in the dark sky or in some of the treetops, since they couldn't say it with him giving his back at them.

"I know he has Kiyoko-san's permission to be like this at this time, but it's not okay."

Kenma watched Ennoshita when he listened to him speak, thinking the same as him since it was the second night that the two of them had asked  of the prefect of the house they belong to, for instead of being in the room they shared considering it was already late and curfew had already been settled, they were watching Akaashi for a second consecutive night.

"Something happened to him." Kenma added.

The two didn’t doubt that the day before something had happened to the one that once again had decided to be outdoors instead of in his room after dinner. Lately Akaashi hadn’t been talking to them but they thought they had made some kind of progress after the three had chosen to spend a full day together, listening and talking to each other to discuss their problems, but when the previous day Akaashi arrived at the room only to lay face down on his bed and then skip dinner and also after it he decided to be on that part outside the castle where he was also at that time, had made both Kenma and Ennoshita consider that something had happened.

Some situation that probably involved Bokuto.

"Shouldn't we ask to cancel tomorrow's game?" Kenma asked.

He knew that there would be many consequences in case that happened, or that Fukunaga could actually play instead of Akaashi, but considering that Akaashi didn’t even speak to them, and that his mood didn’t seem to be the adequate to lead them in a game, much less to play the role of captain, had made Kenma ask himself that question, making room for the possibility that the game against Slytherin wasn’t a reality.

"I think it would only make him feel guiltier." Ennoshita replied.

He considered that at that time Akaashi was in the eye of the storm, and that canceling the game would only make him blame himself, and what they least needed was for Akaashi to carry more problems than he seemed to have. So he thought that canceling the game wasn’t a good idea, although carrying it out didn't seem to be the best plan either. Reality was that they didn’t know what had happened so that from the previous day, Akaashi's attitude seemed to worsen even more, but after having looked at Bokuto in the Great Hall, not seeing him touch anything of the food, they only had confirmed that they had probably spoken, or that at least something had happened between the two.

Ennoshita crossed his arms even more, getting Kenma to watch him.

“What's going on?” He asked, and the black-haired one pursed his lips before speaking.

"I can't help but feel guilty, you know, after all, it was I who made Bokuto start addressing Akaashi differently." He said, believing he was certainly involved in the fact that at that time, one of his best Friends was probably in one of his worst states.

"Your intention was good, and your words worked." Ennoshita rested his eyes on Kenma when he spoke, although he then turned his eyes to Akaashi, who hadn’t yet moved. “There is nothing you, me, or another person can do. This is between the two of them.”

The two again rested their eyes on Akaashi, who continued without moving and seemed not to think about doing so in the near future. They didn’t know if he was crying, if he only remained serious, or what was going through his head. They only knew that he wanted to be alone, even far from the two of them, with whom, despite the situation, he had always shared everything.

Ennoshita took off his back from the wall.

"I’ll go to sleep. I don't know what we'll do tomorrow so I'll try to rest as much as possible in case Akaashi needs me.”

At that time he couldn’t figure out what would happen during tomorrow's game, so he preferred to be prepared for any situation that happened, or for any mood that Akaashi could had.

"I'll go in a little while," Kenma assured him.

Ennoshita only pursed his lips by way of greeting, and from one moment to the next Kenma found himself alone. Again he rested his eyes on Akaashi, although on that occasion, thinking that he felt the same way he did, since as it was obvious that his best friend had been running away from Bokuto for the past few days, he had been doing the same with Kuroo since the beginning of the school year, and even before.

He had understood that somehow, both Bokuto and Akaashi had spoken or had some kind of encounter so that they both met that way, and although he didn't think it was a good outcome, at least there was a possibility that they had faced each other. While in his case, while he had cried and Kuroo hadn’t hesitated to express how he felt, he hadn’t stayed to wait for an answer from him to know the way he had felt with his words.

He was aware that he had had a panic attack because the words he had said during the night of the Christmas dinner had only lifted his worst insecurities, and at that time remembering both moments only succeeded in him swallowing with difficulty. But reality was that he was already tired of walking with fear, nervous after not knowing when he would cross paths with Kuroo, and even though he had been avoiding him worse, the next day he would have nowhere to hide because their teams would face each other in the quidditch field.

They hand’t cross or remain in the same space since both had been at his home during the winter break, and with Akaashi in that state, what he least wanted was for his team to have a double disadvantage because instead of being focused in catching the snitch, he would be more focused on trying to ignore the fact that Kuroo was riding on his broom just like him. He didn’t want to be a burden for his team, since although he always complained about having to attend the workouts, reality was that playing quidditch was something he liked, and more considering that he played it with his best friends and housemates by his side.

He didn't want to disappoint them. He didn’t want a new defeat for Ravenclaw.

He wanted to continue being in that place so that Akaashi didn’t remain alone although he probably didn’t know that both he and Ennoshita had been there the both nights in which he had remained that way, but Ennoshita was right, and as many times Akaashi had been their support, the next day they would probably have to act as support for Akaashi, so if at that time he couldn’t approach to interrupt him, then the next day he would do his duty as the team seeker.

He took one last look at Akaashi, and began to mark the way back to his room.

The situation with his best friend and Bokuto had made him realize that a relationship could change from one moment to the other due to different circumstances, but what he considered ironic was that Bokuto had tried to make Akaashi tell him the truth when at not time Akaashi had lied, while in his case, his situation had changed overnight because of the lies he had heard.

He wanted the truth just like Bokuto.

But in his case, he knew he had never received it while Bokuto had.

And for the same reason, he remained completely still when on the other side of the hall, he spotted Kuroo watching him.

He immediately crossed his arms and looked down again, since what he wanted most was to be as calm as possible to sleep and therefore be able to play the next day as appropriate, and not find him at that time when since they had returned from the recess in winter, he had made three times the effort to avoid him, although that hadn’t prevented him from continuing to think about him, as he continued to do at that time. He wasn’t surprised to find him, since as he knew that the situation with Akaashi had made both Ennoshita and him stay more attentive and think with more dedication, he didn’t doubt that the same thing had happened with Bokuto and Kuroo.

And he was certainly right.

Kuroo didn’t regret having exchanged a few words with Akaashi even if that had ended with Bokuto throwing himself into his arms totally depressed and not wanting to continue existing, completely sad and unable to stop crying. It had taken several hours of comfort to convince him that it wasn’t necessary for him to open his chest for his heart to be taken from him, nor that it was necessary for him to spell his own self with words that would make him run out of memory in order to forget what Akaashi had said or what he felt for him.

And while Bokuto's affliction seemed to have infected him, reality was that Kuroo had been sadder for longer than he could remember. Because although his best friend clearly overcame him in melancholy at the time, he had been dealing with the idea that Kenma didn’t want him since the summer vacations of the previous year had begun. He remembered that his relationship with him had declined as soon as the long break had begun, so he wasn’t truly happy since  that moment.

And he was tired, because giving him his time didn’t imply that he also gave it to his own feelings, which continued to guide his thoughts even if Kenma moved away from him. He was tired of not knowing what to do even if he had taken advantage of the winter break to be completely honest, and thought that he would continue to be annoyed because his relationship with him would never be fixed, until he realized that although he had manifested how he felt, Kenma never had given him an answer.

He had heard him cry, but not what he had to say. Because although he had no doubt that Kenma used all the opportunities to ignore him, he had never expressed to him aloud why he did it, and Kuroo had decided that he deserved to hear it coming from his mouth, to hear the reasons why he was leaving for full of him.

He hadn't taken his eyes off Kenma as soon as he had spotted him on the other side of the hall, and as he had moved to his side since he would have to pass by his side to head towards the Ravenclaw Tower, he felt his pulse began to accelerate as well as his heart to beat faster. He wanted to talk to him but he had already told him everything he felt during that night, so it only remained that Kenma wanted to continue the conversation between them.

He didn't know if Kenma kept thinking about that night as he did, but when he stood still not so far from him instead of just passing by to ignore him, he assumed that neither of them had been able to stop thinking of the words that he had pronounced, and Kenma listened.

Kenma didn’t doubt that Akaashi had given Bokuto a chance even if it had made his mood worse, and although he considered that he had given Kuroo a chance after listening to him during the Christmas night instead of leaving his room or interrupting him when he had begun, he knew that it had been a moment that Kuroo had created, while at that time, he was the one who was allowing the two to meet again after having stood near him.

But reality was that he didn't know why he wanted to give him a try.

Having thought so much about the words he had heard as well as the reason why his relationship had changed, had only made him feel disappointed and confused. Frustrated, because if Kuroo had said he wanted to protect him, then why had he done the opposite during that time?

Kuroo had mentioned that his only way to love him was to hurt him, but he had already got tired and wasn’t willing to continue being the damaged person of the two. Wanting to protect him shouldn’t involve hurting him, for what he was being lied to, and all he had heard had been lies.

And he wouldn’t tolerate it again.

He dared to take his eyes off the ground to pose them in Kuroo, and to understand that once again they were alone in one of the corridors of the castle, only continued giving him the strength he needed to open his mouth instead of simply leaving as he used to do.

“Why do you lie to me?” Kenma asked him.

He observed the way in which Kuroo remained dumbfounded at his words, probably not waiting for him to ask that question, and that in reality, he only opened his mouth to probably run later. He had heard Kuroo speak without waiting for him to give him an answer, so even though he moved at that moment, it wasn’t to get away from him for the reasons he was used to, but because silence was the only answer he found to his question.

He opted to resume the step, still with his arms crossed.

He was sure that that night he wouldn’t be able to sleep even though he had planned otherwise, since every time he crossed or met Kuroo, his head prevented him from resting and therefore he ended up watching the ceiling with his golden irises fully awake, with his frustrated emotions, and his heart confused.

But at that moment he stopped again.

Although not of his own volition, but because his body forced him to do so when suddenly Kuroo appeared again in front of him.

"Why do you say I lie to you?" Kuroo asked.

Kenma remained completely perplexed, since he hadn't expected his question to be answered, much less with a question like that, but unlike all the previous times, Kuroo had decided that he wouldn't let him go. He wouldn't let him call him a liar after he had opened his heart with only one door in between. He wouldn't accept Kenma thinking about him in that way when he had done nothing but be completely honest.

The two looked at each other intensely, the gold of their eyes intermingling.

Both feeling the intensity of the moment as well as the beating of their hearts.

"I thought we felt the same for each other." Kenma said.

"Me too."

Again the two observed each other in the same way, seriously and without lowering their eyes even if every second felt like a minute, and every minute felt like an hour. It was the first time in a long time that Kenma was holding his gaze instead of sliding his eyes to the ground, managing to remind Kuroo that his gold could be as intense and strong as his.

"Then maybe we don't know each other anymore." Kenma determined.

He swallowed with difficulty after having spoken those words, since he knew the true meaning behind them, and that Kuroo would understand the same, which at that time proved why Kuroo's expression became one of stupefaction as well as sorrow. Having said those words with determination and with his eyes up had assumed that they were no longer the people they thought they were, and that more than childhood friends, they had become two complete strangers to each other.

"Don't you dare say that."

Both frowned. Kuroo to try that the pain that those words had caused him in his chest, wasn’t noticeable on his face, and Kenma because despite having also felt hurt with his own phrase, didn’t believe that ignoring those was the right thing to do. Kuroo had hurt him and he no longer recognized his way of acting, so despite himself, his statement wasn’t the wrong one.

“I already did.”

Kuroo made fists with his hands at the sides of his body, but turned his head just as Kenma took his eyes off him when they both heard footsteps approaching them in a hurry, and they both raised an eyebrow when Konoha was the one to approach them at full speed to finally slow down and watch Kuroo with an expression of clear concern on his face.

“Kuroo, you have to come. Bokuto is not okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Not all Hogwarts grounds are safe.


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally did it, a chapter with a single scene
> 
> Btw, sorry for all the mistakes in this chapter, I know there are many

Kenma knew he had to rest because the next day he had a game to play, for which he also considered that he should prepare himself mentally, since he thought just like Ennoshita, and if Akaashi wasn’t in his best form, then it was their duty both as team players and as his best friends, to be his support. He had stopped watching Akaashi to decide to go to bed to sleep, but the fact that Kuroo had also decided to sacrifice his sleep time even if that meant a disadvantage the next day because his performance wouldn’t be the best, had made him move at full speed, although on that occasion, not because he was in the middle of his house’s quidditch training, but because he hadn’t hesitated to continue running along with Konoha and Kuroo as soon as he had heard what the former mentioned.

Although, he suddenly stopped just like the others, when the beginning of a peculiar set of trees, which was observed with curiosity by some students while others by fear, was that in front of them.

"Are you telling me that Bokuto is in there?" Kuroo said pointing the Forbidden Forest with his wand already drawn.

Kenma watched him when he noticed the stress in his voice, although concern was also evident in his face when Konoha nodded at his question.

"When I got to our room, I didn't see him, and Asahi told me that Bokuto told him that he was going to walk, but it started to get late and he didn't come back, so I left the room to look for him and walked through the castle but I didn't find him." Konoha began to explain to them, the anguish being evident in his way of speaking, since he had really hoped to find Bokuto in the owlery because he knew that when his best friend wasn’t okay, he took refuge in that place. “So I went to the quidditch field and found Iwaizumi and Oikawa instead,” He said, and interposed his eyes between Kuroo and Kenma to guess the question that had appeared in their heads. “Yes, they are also there.” He made clear that there were already three people inside the Forbidden Forest. "And they told me they didn't see Bokuto there but they did see him walking around, and the only place he can be is in there. And we were right, because we entered and Bokuto started to get away from us as soon as he heard us. Kuroo, I can swear, I never saw him so bad.” Konoha ended, only making the Slytherin intersperse his gaze between him and the forest. “So Oikawa and Iwaizumi went after him, I went to Slytherin but Suga told me you weren't. So I looked for you and I found you, I found the both of you. We have to go after him.”

Kuroo only added more pressure on his fingers around his wand as soon as he heard him, since there was no possible way for him to return to his common room to lay in his bed knowing that his best friend was in his worst state, running through the Forbidden Forest, while Iwaizumi and Oikawa, two people from his house and two players who would be part of the game the next day, were after him. All his senses had woken up, and there was no way for him to sleep knowing that three people were in the Forbidden Forest, and that Konoha would probably also go there whether he was there or not, which led him to rest his eyes on the other person that was also present, only to not find Kenma because he had already get away from them to enter the Forest, since he could see him because he had caused a small light to come off his wand.

Both Konoha and Kuroo did the same thing after sharing a look, and although the blond kept walking as he had only been there a few minutes ago, Kuroo didn’t hesitate to stand in front of Kenma, who watched him with a frown as soon as he intervened his path.

"Kenma. No. It's dangerous.”

"Dangerous for me and not for you?" Kenma allowed the annoyance to be evident on his face.

Again he tried to move but Kuroo slowed him down, making them look at each other in the same way. Just a few minutes ago, Kenma had said that they no longer knew each other as before, as Kuroo still wondered why he had called him a liar and was still hurt after hearing the security with which he had mentioned his words. But reality was that neither of them planned to return to their rooms to sleep only because they had a game to play the next day. It was true that Kenma had previously spotted Akaashi being alone, probably allowing his own thoughts to bother him because his situation wasn’t good either, and furthermore, he continued to be his best friend while Kuroo Bokuto's, but he wouldn’t leave knowing that more students were immersed in the forest, much less when he knew he could help if they found Bokuto, since apparently the person who had triggered his problems turned out to be Akaashi.

Unlike Kuroo, he still didn’t know what had happened so that Akaashi again locked himself in and away from them, but it seemed that something bad enough had happened that Bokuto hadn’t seen another escape but to settle in the Forbidden Forest.

"Please." Kuroo asked.

The nerves had already begun to eat him not only because he didn't doubt that Bokuto had run away because Akaashi's words were still chasing him, because Iwaizumi and Oikawa were behind him, and because Konoha and they were about to do the same, but because he already had too much concern for them to also add Kenma. Maybe he was hurt, but never, no matter how much distance Kenma had interposed between them, he would stop worrying about him.

"The more you try to make me leave, the farther Bokuto and the others are." Kenma said, and they both turned to look at Konoha, who while they talked, or rather tried to communicate without one of them getting angry, failed to glimpse something out of place that would assure him that the others were close even though they were just at the edge of the forest. “Let's stop wasting time and go.” He added, although he still didn't give him time to think about another option because he passed by his side.

Kuroo turned to watch him and let out a breath of air that turned out to be smoke, which suddenly made him aware of where they were to feel the effects of the environment around them. It was a cold and cloudy night, and surrounded by trees that only made the moonlight seep with less power, didn't help. All Hogwarts students knew that the Forbidden Forest was only allowed to carry out the Care of Magical Creatures classes, since any other activity there was extremely denied, and for the same reason they knew that they could get into serious trouble in case some teacher found out they were there. Kuroo hugged himself, getting frustrated because Kenma had wanted to keep up with the problems, and he increased the size of the light on the tip of his wand before approaching him and Konoha. It had become clear to him that Kenma wouldn’t leave, so all he had left to do was prove that he had made the right decision after choosing to specialize in Spells.

After taking a look at Kenma, he focused on Konoha. "Where did you see them go?"

"Over there," The blond pointed to their right.

They couldn’t hear voices as well as another noise, which meant that by that time, the other three were already far from them.

"Okay, we have to prioritize the time to find them, but we also have to be careful because we don't know what might appear," Kuroo expressed, and waved his hand to tell them to approach them, and while Konoha did, it was enough that Kuroo watched him seriously for Kenma to do it too, and the Ravenclaw looked down when little was the space that separated them. Kuroo made a flat circle over them and small blue sparks surrounded them until they disappeared before touching the ground. “We are protected. Now we just have to run to find them.”

Kenma narrowed his eyes knowing that he had said it for him, and to prove to him that although he didn’t like to move, he was able to run when the situation required it, he didn’t wait for him as soon as he noticed that Konoha began to do so. Kuroo rolled his eyes, and then he started running too. The lights of their wands were the only thing that allowed them not to collide against any tree as well as not to carry over any trunk that remained fallen. The environment didn’t seem to improve as they progressed as the number of trees only continued to increase and they continued to penetrate the forest, as well as the cold it was. They only had their pajamas on, but being running with the worry installed in their bodies and in minds, prevented them from feeling the icy environment although the smoke that left their lips showed otherwise. Konoha led them to where he had previously seen Oikawa and Iwaizumi's wands light up, until they stopped once he no longer knew where to continue.

"I could perform a search spell, but considering that there is a lot of magic here, I don't know if it will work," Kuroo said, knowing that if he wanted to cast a spell so that traces of magic appeared, they would be surrounded by diverse prints because the creatures that lived there could be listed.

Everyone looked around, waiting for something to catch their attention, for something to stand out. But all that surrounded them were tall trees, intercepting the path while others remained fallen. A light breeze of fog had begun to surround them and everyone wanted to have found themselves in their own beds, until suddenly all three pointed their wands at the same place when they heard the noise of bushes moving. Kenma drew an imaginary upward vertical line with his wand so that they remained behind a protection spell, and both he and Konoha continued to hold their wands up until they both turned their eyes to Kuroo when he did the opposite action.

Kenma again rested his sight on his wand when Kuroo rested his hand on it to let him know that he could lower it because he could trust him, and both he and Konoha saw him undo the protective spell Kenma had done to step forward and stretched his hand with caution, and Kenma only needed to see him perform those actions to cover Konoha's mouth before he said anything because he still didn't understand.

He wasn’t able to see them and from the face of confusion of the Hufflepuff he didn’t doubt that he either, but he simply knew that a thestral was that in staying in front of Kuroo, and not necessarily because he lowered his gaze to verify that the ground seemed to sink into some parts.

He knew it because in his fourth year and in Kuroo’s fifth, the older had managed to drag him into the forest, assuring him that he wasn’t putting him in danger. The Slytherin had simply told him that he wanted to show him something that although he wouldn’t be able to see, he would be able to feel, and it was not until the moment that he felt something warm under the palm of his hand without being able to see what it was, that he understood that Kuroo hadn’t made a joke after stretching his arm in the air, but had wanted to showed him thestrals, creatures that could only be seen by people who had witnessed death, which had led him to learn that Kuroo had seen his grandmother die. The drawings and descriptions that he had subsequently seen and read in books, had made him understand that the palm of his hand had really been found on that creature’s head that despite its appearance, weren’t evil, just as Kuroo continued to demonstrate him at that moment.

Kuroo certainly caressed the creature's head that he could see, but the fact that it suddenly moved away from him even though he hadn’t made a strange movement, made him hold his wand high again to the other side, at the same time that Konoha and Kenma also turned when they heard something from a distance, something that had made the thestral go away from that place.

"Not explosive spells unless we want the whole school to get up," Kuroo said, being aware that in reality those spells were the ones he knew best. “Only if we are in complete danger, red sparks.”

Kenma chose to close his eyes trying to prioritize his hearing, and was observed by the other two when he reached down to rest the palm of his free hand on the wet grass covered with branches of different sizes. The trees intercepted his vision but his other senses remained on constant alert, and his pupils suppressed much of the gold of his irises when he opened his eyes after feeling the ground rumble under his touch.

"This won't be good," He alerted, and the three heard the same scream.

And then another.

"Oikawa." Kuroo breathed, but turned his head when he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Isn't it best to attack before being attacked?" Kenma expressed, staring at him.

Kuroo swallowed and forced all the impulses within himself to remain in place so that it wouldn’t be a slap that stamped against his face as the idea of leaning to kiss Kenma appeared in his head. He circled his wand with more force and shouted at himself to move since the idea of receiving a slap considering the situation they were in, was what mattered the least to him.

Konoha and Kenma moved behind him, but the three stumbled as well as fell on something completely frozen in a matter of seconds, to remain stunned as soon as they looked up.

"Iwa-chan!"

Oikawa touched the ground with his wand to cause the terrain to rumble and a wide swath of it rose upward, allowing Iwaizumi to run along it and then jump into the air.

“Glacius!” He pointed with his wand down so that from it, frosty gusts that came out began to freeze the head of the acromantula that had raised its front legs against Oikawa’s threat, who pronounced the same spell pointing towards the back legs of the same after moving, and he observed how the creature began to squirm from the freezing of its body at the same time that Iwaizumi slipped through the frost that began to cover the creature, and fell rolling on the ground.

Oikawa extended one of his hands towards him to help him up, and they both released the same puff of smoke when they stood facing each other, until they both turned their heads to watch Bokuto slide beneath the creature's body to finish freezing it after touching its stomach with his wand. The acromantula twisted and its screams were heard throughout the forest, although none of the three seemed to be calmer for the same, and they slid their eyes to the other side when they heard a complaint. 

They watched Kuroo wrapped Kenma's waist just in time to prevent him from slipping back on the ice that had covered part of the ground. The gold of their irises melted when their eyes met, and their chests remained totally close as well as their faces. Kenma made soft fists to avoid resting his hands on Kuroo's chest, while Kuroo swallowed after the sudden physical contact between the two, until they both didn’t hesitate to separate. Kenma because he didn't want to establish physical contact with him, and Kuroo because he knew that Kenma would get mad at him if he continued to hold him, and they both looked sideways at each other until they placed their eyes on the one who shouted their names along with Konoha's.

“What are you doing here!” Oikawa exclaimed approaching them while Iwaizumi tried to approach Bokuto.

"To know where you were," Kuroo replied approaching too, but his attention was turned to Bokuto, who moved away from Iwaizumi immediately at the same time that he seemed to completely ignore Oikawa's presence in front of him to run to him, and let out a breath of air when Bokuto threw himself into his arms, getting him to step back, as soon as he saw him. “Bo, but, what?”

"I'm sorry," Bokuto's tears that had momentarily disappeared after staying focused on getting rid of the difficulties of the acromantula, arose again as soon as he could hug Kuroo. “I'm so sorry, I didn't want anyone to be in trouble because of me,” He said, and Kuroo looked at Iwaizumi and Oikawa when he heard his words, noting by their expressions that Bokuto probably hadn't stopped repeating the same thing. “I just want to disappear, I just want to leave,” Bokuto said, looking like a stranger, with a completely broken voice and sinking his face into his shoulder, although tears continued to leave his eyes without stopping.

"It’s okay... just... calm... try to take it easy," Kuroo forced himself to hide the anguish of his tone of voice because he knew that his best friend only had negative thoughts, and Kenma pursed his lips because he recognized himself in Kuroo after all the times he had tried to keep his composure in front of Akaashi.

"He doesn't love me anymore, Kuroo, he doesn't love me anymore," Bokuto said through tears. Kuroo let out a breath as he blinked several times so that his eyes wouldn’t fog up, since he knew that his best friend only thought the worst of himself because Akaashi had told him that he no longer loved him and that the same got him to think that nobody did. During the afternoon Bokuto had already told him the words that Akaashi had said, as he tried to comfort him, although apparently he had failed to do so because Bokuto had felt the need to get away from everyone so that they were at the Forbidden Forest at that moment. “I want to go but I don't want to go home either,” He expressed, shivering under his arms, not being able to support himself, and the other four present remained confused when they heard him, since unlike Kuroo, they didn’t know what Bokuto’s parents were like. They didn’t know that the adult’s words were those that had led Bokuto to begin to have doubts that weren't typical of him, which in turn had led him to think that Akaashi didn’t love him, and therefore, to hear the same saying them. “I just want Akaashi to love me.”

Kuroo gently guided his hands to Bokuto's face to separate him from him, and although Bokuto looked down, Kuroo clenched his lips when he still noticed Bokuto's broken gaze, crying as he had never done before, as if all hope had been taken away from his thoughts and he had forgotten what it was to smile even if all people knew him for the same reason, as if he had never known what was happiness or his gaze had never been characterized by shining as well as his face for holding an animated smile that made anyone happy. His lips trembled as well as his body, and tears kept sliding down his wet cheeks. Bokuto covered his face with both hands and Kuroo observed him, never before having seen his best friend so vulnerable, until the two heard a noise and Konoha was the one to raise his wand to prevent the tree that had suddenly been removed from the middle, to fall on them.

A string of trees were removed from the ground, and the five raised their wands when two acromantulas appeared in front of them.

"Students in the Forbidden Forest." One of the creatures pronounced.

"Attacking our community." The second said after seeing the other acromantula frozen.

"Shit," Oikawa murmured.

"I told you there was more of them," Iwaizumi whispered.

"We must go to the edge of the forest because they won't cross it," Kuroo began, slowly walking backwards while with one hand he held his wand high and with the other he tugged at Bokuto to back off with him. “They won’t pass the trees that limit the forest, so we have to run, now!”

Everyone turned and moved quickly as soon as they heard his shout, but the acromantulas sighted and listened to them to then didn’t hesitate to go after them. Oikawa was the first to get them time after bending down while he continued running, to brush the ground with the tip of his wand and make a huge layer of ice cover the grass backwards, making one of the acromantulas slide while the other jumped to one of the trees and then pounce on them, being the protective spell made by Kuroo and Iwaizumi, what prevented it from crushing them. The other acromantula jumped out of the frozen layer of the ground and the other that had come out, turned around again to both head towards them.

"To hell with my words," Kuroo said, raising his wand again. “Incendio!” One of the acromantulas began to shriek after its front legs started to burn from the flames that reached it.

"Don't hurt them, we'll have problems!" Oikawa locked the fire in a layer of ice while the acromantula continued to shriek when instead of burning, it simply lost its front legs after those detached from its body after freezing with the flames inside the ice. It was true that they were in danger and that the acromantulas attacked anyone other than the keeper of the forest, but they continued to be creatures that, after all, they had been the ones to bother.

"Stop creating ice, it will hurt you!" Iwaizumi shouted, raising his wand at the other acromantula, “¡Avis!” A wind current shook their hair so that a flock of birds accompanied the breeze to then pounced on the creature, slowing it down.

"Sometimes I don't hear you, Iwa-chan!"

Oikawa moved his wand in an arc shaped way and a huge and impressive structure of ice appeared in front of them, which promptly tried to begin to be broken by both acromantulas that had already freed themselves from the previous spells. The brunet felt that a chill ran through his body at the same time that a puff of smoke left his lips, but he started running anyway when everyone did. They moved as the ice structure continued to try to be pulled down, feeling the adrenaline take over the muscles of their bodies, asking them not to stop because the creatures were still behind them. They sighted the boundary of the forest through which they had previously entered, and the ground beneath them was accompanied by a vibration because the ice structures were finally pulled down.

But suddenly everyone stopped when Kenma did.

"Kenma!" Kuroo shouted, but the Ravenclaw only looked up.

"Now I understand when in class professors say to keep calm regardless of the situation. Because if not, we forget everything we learned." He expressed, and turned around at the same time that two trees were felled and Kuroo shouted his name again, approaching him. “Arania Exumai!” He shouted, and everyone covered their faces or protected their eyes in some way when a powerful and bright blue light was detached from the tip of his wand, making both acromantulas squeak in place instead of pouncing on him.

Kenma closed his eyes when the light even turned out to be too much to him, and fell to the ground on his knees when the acromantulas shrieked once more before turning around to return where they had been followed. He sat down without caring that his pants got dirty, and shook his head in indignation at the fact that they had performed a whole series of spells when they had actually forgotten the most useful in that kind of situation.

He had understood why teachers always repeated to them that it wasn’t the same to practice in class than in an unexpected situation in real life, that they shouldn’t lose their mind because remembering the ideal spell was the most important thing when it came to confronting something or someone without planning it.

"Well thought, Ravenclaw-chan." Oikawa expressed just before dropping his wand to sit on the ground and hug himself, shaking. His teeth chattered and his lips had taken a purple color. A cut decorated his face on his left cheek as well as a smaller one under his chin. “Maybe I should have listened to you, Iwa-chan,” He added when his best friend crouched beside him immediately.

"Yeah, you dumbass." Iwaizumi also dropped his wand to begin caressing his arms with his hands to try to give him some of the heat he didn't doubt Oikawa had lost with all the ice-related spells he had done, although then he opted to surround him to try to warm him with his body heat, feeling like the body under his didn’t stop moving due to the cold that accompanied him. “What is it with you and ice spells?”

"You know I'm good at it," Oikawa replied, still shaking. “And I also get you to hug me.”

Iwaizumi formed a small, worried smile as he continued to hug him, but they both slid their attention to the same person like the others. Bokuto sat on the floor with his legs bent as well as with his hands on his head, beginning to rock himself without being able to control the tears that had once again accumulated in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I always ruin everything, I'm really sorry," He said, closing his eyes even though tears kept sliding down his cheeks. “I shouldn't have let this happen. Sorry. I didn't want any of this to happen. I'm just sad, sorry, I'm really sorry,” The blame was on him because after walking away from his common room, he had managed to get the people closest to him into the forest just because he had wanted to get away because he no longer wanted to be a burden to the others, because if neither Akaashi nor his parents loved him, then there was no point in making others worry. He had understood that he wasn’t important, and for the same reason he hadn’t wanted to be followed in the forest, although he had only achieved the opposite and his head kept repeating that now those around him would also be angry with him, that they would also stop loving him, just as Akaashi had done. “I just want him to love me, I'm really sorry,” He continued, unable to stop crying, unable to stop repeating in his head the image of Akaashi assuring him that he didn't love him.

After getting up, Kenma passed by Kuroo after he had approached him to help him, Konoha moved away from Bokuto when he watched Kenma heading towards them with an expression of obvious annoyance, and everyone remained stunned not when Kenma ducked in front of Bokuto, but when he slapped him and then he take him from the collar of his shirt to bring him closer to his face.

"Listen to me, you idiot." The Ravenclaw determined, staring at him. “I wouldn't have done everything I did if you meant absolutely nothing to my best friend.” He stated, since he certainly wouldn't have chosen to be in the forest instead of in his bed if Bokuto was just someone else to Akaashi. Akaashi was his best friend and for the same reason he knew him from head to toe, which had led him to think that it would be useful for him to also look out for Bokuto instead of leaving, since at that time he could do what no one else could. “He does love you and for the same reason it hurt him so much what you did. He loves you and that's why he is as he is, so if you dare to repeat once more that he doesn't love you, I will cast spells on you that you don’t even want to imagine, did you hear me?”

If it had been Kuroo, Bokuto wouldn’t have believed him. Kenma had understood that Akaashi had told Bokuto that he didn’t love him and that by those words the Hufflepuff seemed to have lost his hope, but Kenma had learned to read his best friend from head to toe, and if there was anything he was sure of, was that no matter if Akaashi had expressed it in words, his heart kept saying that he loved the one who, after listening to him at that moment, remained silent looking at him.

"He may have said that he doesn’t love you but it’s not true because otherwise I wouldn’t see him as bad as he is," He continued, “No joke I would have gotten into this damn forest, risking my short life as student and stressed teenager if you were worth absolutely nothing to Akaashi. So you will stop thinking that he doesn’t love you because otherwise I will slap you again if necessary. Did I make myself clear?”

The others remained dumbfounded after hearing him.

Konoha had remained still in his place, open-mouthed because he had never imagined that Kenma could cope in that way, and because the image of him slapping Bokuto continued to repeat itself in his head. Iwaizumi again began to move his hands through Oikawa's arms after remembering that he was cold, since he had stopped doing so when the Ravenclaw's words had been direct and severe. Oikawa had raised both eyebrows, realizing that Kenma wasn’t a calm and inexpressive person as he had always thought. And the only one who wasn't surprised to see him turned out to be Kuroo, because although he hadn't expected him to slap Bokuto, he hadn't been astonished at the words he had said.

He knew that Kenma was expressive and that he didn’t always wore the same face as others thought, just as he also knew that his calm personality was put aside when he wanted to be heard or when a situation placed him at his limit. He had just understood why Kenma had stayed to help instead of leaving, since it had become clear to him that it hadn’t mattered how many times he had assured Bokuto that it wasn’t all over with Akaashi, while a few words expressed by Kenma had been enough to make Bokuto finally stop being a prisoner of his own thoughts, because they had both understood that if there was anyone who could get Bokuto to pay attention, it was he or Ennoshita.

They both were Akaashi’s best friends and therefore those who knew Akaashi best, and for the same reason, at that moment Bokuto's body stopped shaking as well as his golden gaze, completely open as well as crystalline, continued to merge with Kenma's gold. If Kenma, who knew how Akaashi felt, had assured him that Akaashi hadn’t stopped loving him and even loved him, then he still had minimal hope.

Kenma released him from the shirt and Bokuto didn't start releasing a string of words. He simply looked down at the grass, and the Ravenclaw chose to get up.

"I'm cold, I want to sleep, and honestly, tomorrow I plan to defeat the three of you no matter what happened tonight." He determined, addressing the three people who were part of the team of the house that Ravenclaw would face in the quidditch pitch. “If any of you dares to tell Akaashi of this, my wand will take you as target.” He stated, interspersing his gaze between the four people with him, since Akaashi was probably in the same way as Bokuto, although unlike him, he wouldn’t prove it because he chose to keep everything inside him, and he didn't need him to find out about everything that had happened because his mood would probably decline even more if he hadn't already done it completely.

"Maybe Akaashi won't know about this, but I certainly do." The five heard a voice that hadn’t yet emerged between them, and they all remained completely serious when Director Takeda appeared before them with Coach Ukai and Professor Nekomata by his side, the three of them keeping the tips of their wands illuminated as well as holding serious expressions, indicating that the fact that what happened in the forest would only remain between them, wouldn’t be a possibility. “And know, that for now, tomorrow's game, or rather, the game that is supposed to be in a few hours, is cancelled.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Game of emotions.


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quidditch time has arrived once again.

Ravenclaw versus Slytherin.

A match that had been thought of being cancelled.

Concentration versus cunning.

Patience versus determination.

A game for which some players had insisted to be carried out.

Once again, the cries of emotion echoed throughout the field’s tribune.

The players were already mounted on their brooms and on their respective sides of the pitch, chatting among themselves or making small turns in the air.

A game of quidditch always got the students to meet and forget the differences between their houses when they encouraged or were in favor of one of the teams that would compete. And since Daichi and Suga had reconciled, and because Yaku had beaten Lev enough times to make him understand and not make the same mistake twice, the tension between the houses had already disappeared, which explained why Lev was next to the Gryffindor’s team leaders while Yamaguchi and Yachi remained with Hinata and Kageyama. On that occasion they would be the spectators, and the first-year quintet remained impressed when they spotted a player who they hadn’t expected to see flying o his broom.

"Isn’t he..." Hinata tried to point at the specific Slytherin player.

Both Daichi and Yaku managed to get the attention of the younger ones when they looked at each other surprised.

“Kyoutani.” The shortest expressed.

They all rested their eyes on the sixth-year that was recognizable even in the distance, thanks to his peculiar dyed blond hair that had two black lines that ran horizontally from one side to the other of his head, and who that at that time remained mounted on his broom because apparently he had been chosen as one of the starting chasers for the match.

Yaku sighed. "I'll just say it's good that we've already played against Slytherin." He added.

Yamaguchi and Yachi hugged each other shaking with panic, since Hufflepuff hadn’t yet faced that house.

“Why didn’t he play against us?” Kageyama asked, “I don’t remember seeing him on the bench either.”

"He never got along with the team so he stopped playing when Slytherin lost to Hufflepuff last year," Daichi replied, “If he has come back, I guess it’s because he has learned that he can’t do anything alone or because Kuroo has given him a chance.”

Suddenly Kageyama felt reflected in Kyoutani when he knew that description could also fit him, while Hinata casted a sidelong glace at him while smiling because he knew what was going through his head.

"Apparently he will replace Oikawa." Yachi expressed, seeming to be impressed.

They all turned their eyes to the mentioned one, who stood on one of the sides of the field, clearly having succeeded his place to Kyoutani since he was riding on his broom while he didn’t, and an unconscious smile appeared on Daichi’s face when he saw Suga remaining at his side, with whom Oikawa was speaking at the time, the two seeming to be having a serious conversation. And certainly that was what they were having, because although they had already talked about the strategies for the game and the same was about to begin, some doubts continued to hover in the air.

“You are a fundamental player, Oikawa. Are you sure of what you have done?” Suga asked.

For him it was normal to remain without playing, but not for the other to do the same.

The aforementioned placed his hands on the sides of his waist. “We need this.” Oikawa stated looking at the rest of his teammates flying over them, not being used to being one of those who remained watching the game instead of participating in it, even though considering everything that had happened during the previous night, he was certainly grateful that for that occasion, he didn't have to be on his broom. “I know I'm fundamental, but Iwa-chan and Kindaichi too. They couldn’t be replaced. Believe me, it really costed me to accept not playing. Suga-chan, my boyfriend will remember me about it until I die."

Suga giggled amusedly.

“Your boyfriend?” He asked raising both brows.

"Future boyfriend." Oikawa corrected himself with a charming smile.

Suga was aware of the change in the relationship that the vice-captain of the team and Iwaizumi maintained, because although they had seen him cry, thankfully he had learned about what he had interrupted by running and crying near them, just as he was also the only one to know what had happened during the previous night, and that therefore, the only one to know that Iwaizumi, Kuroo, and Oikawa, hadn't rested enough hours for that game.

The decision for Kyoutani to replace Oikawa had been taken before all the events of the previous night had taken place, and although Suga knew Oikawa was an exceptional player, on the other hand he was happy that at least one of his three teammates would remain without playing. For the others, the cuts on Oikawa and Iwaizumi's faces were due to the training they had had during the last days, while on his case he had heard the real reason of why they had them, as well as why Oikawa was wearing two hoodies, counteracting all the cold he had suffered last night because of the spells he had done.

"Besides, I know I wouldn’t have concentrated in case being in the game," Oikawa added.

“Why? Is your future boyfriend too pretty?”

Suga laughed at his own words.

“Of course he is! But no! Not because of his extreme prettiness, but because of his!”

His frown remained puckered, and the one next to him followed his finger until he spotted Akaashi. Suga covered his face with both hands and wondered how it was possible that the one next to him was one of the two leaders who coordinated the team as well as one of the smartest people he knew. Although Oikawa had been present while Suga hadn't, neither of them had needed Akaashi's name to be said to know that Bokuto had acted under the words he had mentioned, since no one in the castle remained oblivious to the fact that Bokuto wasn't smiling.

“He is so pretty! It's not fair! I wouldn’t have achieved anything if I had played in the match, all the time I would have kept concentrating watching Iwa-chan not fall in love with him.”

"You really amaze me sometimes." Suga said, and not in a good way.

Oikawa stuck out his tongue at him before releasing a sigh, and then rested his eyes on his teammates. He had barely slept and had a stressful night, but that wasn't what worried him the most. “We really need to win.” He expressed, being serious after having left all joke aside. Somehow they had managed to convince the adults not to cancel the game because that would only bring worse sequences, so they only had to try to win it so that their pleas hadn't been in vain. “I know that Tetsu-chan's trust will disappear if we don’t, and Mad-Dog-chan is our chance to avoid it.”

Reality was that while Futakuchi hadn’t expressed himself in the best way and had uttered a series of words against them by allowing anger to be the basis of his prayers, Oikawa had accepted that he was right and that he hadn’t do anything to make Yahaba feel better after having spotted Kyoutani rejoining the Quidditch team, so he hadn’t hesitated to try to correct his mistake after hoping that having accepted being replaced would serve to prove that Kuroo had made a good decision, and that therefore, Kyoutani was an addition that would help the team begin to be noticed during the tournament.

Suga thought that sometimes Oikawa behaved like a five-year-old boy, but many times it was clear why he had been chosen to occupy the position of vice-captain, and at that moment, like him, he rested his eyes on the one who also led the team to which they belonged.

Tension ate up every inch of Kuroo's body. Not only because he had barely slept, it had been a completely stressful night, and the least he wanted to do was play a quidditch game, but also because he hoped to have made the right decision by replacing the vice-captain and therefore one of his exceptional players, for another who also had his own skills, by once again deciding that the sixth-years were chosen as official players.

Despite the demonstrated tension in the practices, Kuroo believed that Kyoutani’s and Yahaba’s abilities could be combined and result in a great advantage for the team when the two unfolded with their greatest potential, and although he had heard Futakuchi declare that he himself would push him off his broom, he hoped that he was motivated enough to try to catch the snitch after it was shown that the fact that the number of sixth-year students had increased in the team, didn’t necessarily have to imply a lack of control or a bad outcome. In addition, Iwaizumi seemed to remain equally confident even if Oikawa wasn’t by his side, Kindaichi's trust was present because Iwaizumi was with him, and Kyoutani had a strength similar to Iwaizumi's when he was playing around the field, so changes and continuations were in his house’s favor if he thought in a positive way, not only because he had decided to choose an aggressive offensive, but because he and Yahaba would be present to allow them to move easily.

He had some confidence in his decisions, so the rest of his tension was due to a single person who was on the other side of the field at that time, and who, during the previous night, had left him completely confused, which explained why he had big circles under his eyes even if the knowledge that he would play the next day had yelled at him to sleep. He had barely managed to fall asleep after everyone had returned to their rooms with Director Takeda's words in their heads, and Kuroo also with Kenma's, who had acted so strangely with him.

Kuroo was still extremely disoriented. He had thought that Kenma had finally changed his way of thinking and had accepted him after keeping the words he had told him during the winter break, but his hope had been erase when he later called him a liar and even state that they no longer knew each other like they used to. He didn’t understand what had happened to him, and he was just as disoriented as he had been the night before.

And yet, as much as he wanted to go across the field to talk with Kenma, he knew that at that moment he had to focus on his players and on the victory that both teams and he himself wanted to achieve at all costs. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, and although he couldn’t eliminate the pain that Kenma’s words continued to cause him, he stopped resting his eyes on Kenma to approach the rest of his teammates.

But Kenma wasn’t relieved though he knew that Kuroo's eyes were no longer on him. He also didn’t like to know that his captain and vice-captain kept their eyes on him although they were trying to be disguised, since both Ennoshita and Akaashi had managed to perceive that something had happened the previous night without needing him to say a word about the matter. He had barely been able to sleep, and not only because he had been running through the Forbidden Forest or because he had been scolded by the adults of the institution along with other students, but also because the words he had crossed with Kuroo kept circling in his mind. His body felt a chill spread through him as he remembered the way he had felt when he had heard Kuroo talking to him from the other side of the door as well as when he had chosen to stand in front of him last night again, and he hated his own self for knowing it wasn’t a feeling of anger and hatred what he felt towards Kuroo, and that last night he hadn't only chosen to stay out of his bed for Bokuto, but also because he had noticed the stress in Kuroo and had wanted to do something to try to reduce it knowing how much he cared for Bokuto, just like he did for Akaashi, which explained why he hadn't hesitated to tell the others not to tell Akaashi anything about what happened, as well as doing his part in asking adults not to cancel the game.

He was desperate for the game to be over, since he had barely been able to sleep and was completely exhausted both physically and emotionally. He wanted to lay on his bed and not go out for several days, nor play a quidditch game. And much less against the person who was the cause of him not wanting to do anything but hide under his sheets. He was grateful to be a seeker so he wouldn’t have to face Kuroo, although he did against Futakuchi, who he had noticed was staring at him and not necessarily because he wanted to say hello to wish him luck.

Akaashi got Futakuchi to stop observing Kenma in that way when he observed him in the same way, but chose not to rest his eyes on Kenma again since he knew it would only make him feel more nervous. He couldn’t even control his own unrest, and he didn’t want to upset the others on his team. He knew that Kenma wasn’t at his best, nor was Ennoshita or himself. They weren’t more important than the other players, nor did they stand out, but he knew they wouldn’t get anywhere if the three of them played the way they were. It wasn’t the ideal day to be on their brooms about to start a game considering that they didn’t consider themselves ready to face themselves and what they felt.

He didn't know what had happened to Kenma but he didn't think it was a coincidence that he hadn't seen him when he arrived at their room, and that he carried big dark circles under his eyes, and for that reason he could only conclude that Kenma hadn’t slept at all until that moment because his thoughts kept him busy with something else, or perhaps someone else. He had been grateful that none of his best friends interrupted the moment he had wanted to have just to try to calm his own self down, since holding back tears wasn’t easy, much less when he knew that Ennoshita and Kenma were worried about him, so he had chosen to distance himself partially to try to lower the levels of his uneasiness that had only increased since he had spoken with Bokuto, who at that moment was in the stands with his eyes on him to make him feel even more anxious to get the game over. Previously he had never cared to be looked at by him, since it didn’t change his mood and he even liked it, but that had changed since he had expressed that he didn’t love him, since he felt Bokuto looked at him both sadly and gratefully. He was grateful for having freed him from the blankness he represented. He didn’t doubt that he wished him defeat, since his best friend was also the captain of the other team.

He felt that he wasn’t prepared at all to play, but what he least needed was to cause a stir only because he couldn’t control his own emotions, or rather, not express them, so he had decided to act in that way, suppressing the pain in his chest as well as the tears in his eyes. He couldn’t ruin the game, he couldn’t disappoint the rest of his team just because he didn’t maintain a good relationship with his emotional side, if he even had one. He only had to be able to play, finding himself solely focused on the idea of scoring points and thinking about each of the players on his team, and only later he could somehow afford to disconnect himself from everything and everyone else, but not while he was on the field.

Ennoshita pressed his lips as he caught a glimpse of Akaashi holding his broom tightly and observing the tip of it while releasing a great breath of air. Last night he had told Kenma that he would try to sleep to find himself in his best state, but to have remained awake to not hear him nor Akaashi come back, only meant that the both of them had done it too late; and that made him feel everything but rested.

But he couldn’t fail his best friends, so he had chosen to turn that restlessness into motivation. He was totally excited to play, not only because being on his broom was always a good sign, but also because he wanted to be able to release the tension in his body as well as demonstrate that he was the one to raise his best friend's mood after expecting to be able to win the game that would soon begin. It was clear that his two roommates needed to have something to distract them so that the seriousness left their faces for at least a few moments, and he considered himself the only capable of achieving it even if he wasn’t the only one to play. He needed to get the victory so that at least Akaashi and Kenma had something to be happy about.

Although he couldn’t deny that the mere act of confronting Slytherin made adrenaline rush through his entire body.

Playing against Hufflepuff had amused him even if they had lost, but it had been kind of a test to see how it was the way they worked as a team in the first game, and with the whole situation of Bokuto yelling at Akaashi, he had barely been able to focus on the simple idea of being mounted on his broom. So the fact of being able to face Yahaba and Kyoutani was extremely entertaining as well as the idea of thinking that he would be able to see Futakuchi's dejected face in case they won. He wanted the game to begin so he could have fun with Yahaba even if both belonged to opposing teams, since throughout the week they had multiplied their cross of sarcastic comments and charged with superiority as the confrontation between their houses had approached. He wanted to face Kyoutani because he was a chaser like him and he wished not only to assure him that the fact of them winning against them last year didn’t mean anything, and that him finally being an official player on the team that year implied that they would have the opportunity to face in an appropriate way. He wasn’t afraid of him, and on the contrary, he planned it to be something personal because he didn’t doubt that Kyoutani continued to bother Yahaba while he had always expressed that he was the only one who could do it. And besides, although the matter had been left in the past, and Futakuchi was a seeker and therefore Kenma would be his only personal opponent, he hoped to win to somehow been able to take revenge on him for what he had done to Kunimi, since at the end of the day, no one on the team liked that he had messed up with the keeper.

It was true that he continued to be concerned about the words he had addressed to Tanaka, but he wouldn’t allow a simple sentence to completely ruin his mood as well as to get rid of all his other emotions that he had so long expected to feel. So when the two captains of the teams approached each other, he chose to keep his eyes fixed on them instead of turning his gaze to the rostrum to know if Tanaka was watching him or not.

Akaashi and Kuroo stared at each other for a few seconds before finally shaking their hands, the younger feeling that the oldest made the grip stronger.

“You hurt my best friend. Don’t take it personal." The Slytherin stated.

“You also hurt my best friend. You don’t take it personal either.”

The one who wore the color blue wasn’t intimidated by his eyes as well as by his words, and even copied his own sentence, because just as Kuroo had comforted Bokuto, Akaashi had no doubt that Kenma had the aspect he had, because he had surely cross paths with him. He wasn't in the mood, but he wouldn't let Kuroo think he could take that to his advantage, because regardless of the state of his emotions, he would always defend Kenma.

"It was never my intention." Kuroo assured him.

“You did it anyway.” Akaashi released his hand from his grip and continued to watch him totally serious, when thanks to his words, he understood that then truly Kuroo and Kenma had crossed the night before, and that therefore, his best friend hadn’t been able to sleep because of him. “I got the best grade in Potions by the way, but not thanks to your advice. I trusted the theory, and it turned out well.”

“I still think you can learn from mistakes.”

“I rather not fail.”

“With your theory I think you already did.”

“And you don’t seem to be learning much from your mistakes.”

“Good luck.” Kuroo expressed the one in front to him.

“Thank you for your kindness, but my team doesn’t need it.”

Kuroo wanted to tell him something else, he wanted to tell him that because of him, last night several of the players present had had to sacrifice their sleeping hours to follow the person whose heart had been broken by his words, but he was aware that he was being looked at by Kenma, and for the only reason he chose not to tell him about what had happened last night, was because he respected Kenma's words even though others of them hurt him, and if he had asked them not to say anything to Akaashi, then he wouldn't do it.

Neither of them was in their best state and they maintained feelings that mixed with the nerves and the intrigue that playing a new game of quidditch caused them, only turned out to be a non very pleasant combination. It was true that between the two of them a formal relationship had never been established, and that they had ended knowing each other because their respective best friends were also part of each other's lives, allowing their feelings to be those of the other to determinate the type of relationship between them.

They continued to stare at each other once they joined the main round, making the tension between them enough for Ennoshita and Yahaba to choose to observe themselves with amused smiles on their faces, instead of taking advantage of that occasion to bother and congratulate each other because the two had been chosen to be part of the group of official players, although Ennoshita’s smile was the one that stood out the most when he earned a hostile look from Kyoutani.

Everyone observed each other.

The two captains knew they had to win.

One knew that the game had been accompanied with the threat of being cancelled, while the other didn't.

The two vice captains were aware of the same thing.

The players of both houses longed for victory.

And more than a match, a true confrontation of feelings began when the whistle was blown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Moving can be useful to release feelings.


	60. Chapter 60

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 60 chapters already. Wooo, I don't know how to thank you for keep on reading. It's a very long story, and I'm glad you still have the patience to read each chapter. I'm really glad you do because I really liked writing it, so thanks for continuing to support all my words (and accepting all my mistakes too).
> 
> With that being said, quidditch is back.
> 
> Ravenclaw:  
> Chasers: Ennoshita, Akaashi, Sakusa  
> Beaters: Tsukishima, Suna  
> Keeper: Kunimi  
> Seeker: Kenma
> 
> Slytherin:  
> Chasers: Kindaichi, Iwaizumi, Kyoutani  
> Beaters: Kuroo, Yahaba  
> Keeper: Daishou  
> Seeker: Futakuchi
> 
> Warning: It's a long chapter, and there's a little bit of violence.

Futakuchi and Kenma followed the same path as soon as the snitch was released.

Nobody was impressed when Ennoshita was the first to take over the quaffle, since his excitement and desire to play the game had been remarkable from any point of the rostrum, so it wasn’t a surprise for him to get away from Kyoutani. He avoided him, having expected Kyoutani to come at him, since he knew him even though that was the first time they played against each other, being able to dodge him because Suna deflected a bludger towards Kyoutani.

Ravenclaw not only planned strategies to outperform their team, but also to delay the opposite, and from the outset they had considered the possibility of the new Slytherin player to be chosen as starter, so they had planned to take charge of Kyoutani from the very first beginning, at that moment demonstrating it when Kyoutani couldn’t keep up with Ennoshita for dodging the ball that had been sent to him at the same time that Tsukishima flew after Ennoshita until the quaffle was held by Sakusa.

But Kuroo wasn’t only a captain, but also an experienced beater who had even spent his time teaching a beater on the other team how to improve his skills, so Sakusa was forced to return the ball to Ennoshita when a bludger passed too much near him. However, they had also predicted that Kuroo would try to prove that choosing Kyoutani had been a good decision, so for the same reason, Ennoshita gave a turn on himself to avoid dodging Kindaichi, who went directly to him, and got the first ten points for Ravenclaw after getting the ball in the medium hoop.

“And the match starts with ten points made by nothing more, nothing less, than the Ravenclaw’s vice-captain!”

The adrenaline in Ennoshita's veins was thrilling to the point that he didn’t even feel he had made that turn. He wanted to win, he wanted to get the victory. He didn’t want his best friends to continue immersed in their thoughts, and if he had to be honest, he could only say that he hadn’t forgotten the conversation he had had with Akaashi when they had been at the express as soon as the winter break had begun, and that therefore, he hadn’t forgotten that his captain had expressed that they had to work smarter, since that was what Ravenclaw did. They had learned from the defeat against Hufflepuff because they took each fault as a lesson.

His smile increased when he passed near Yahaba. “You're already losing!” He exclaimed.

The Slytherin would have thrown his bat at him if he hadn’t needed it even though he couldn’t help but hold a smile on his face when he heard him. But it was Ennoshita's smile that in disappearing when he received a strong blow from Kyoutani, who passed by his side too close to be able to do more than brushing his shoulder with his, although Ennoshita only limited himself to glared at him and shake that part of his body, since watching Yahaba look in the same way at Kyoutani for the same action, turned out to be satisfying.

But Ennoshita’s excitement had spread to the other team.

Kindaichi thought he had to show that he deserved not to have been replaced while the vice-captain of his team did, so no one could stop him when he went to the opposite hoops with the quaffle in his hands, and that as well, Ennoshita’s words achieved that the anxiety in Yahaba's body would ignite, and therefore, he managed to redirect the two bludgers that went to the fifth-year of his house, not only to allow him to continue approaching the hoops, but also to prevent Suna and Tsukishima, the respective beaters of the other team, to stop him. Being that the first time he demonstrated that indeed, he chose to play as the true beater he was instead of getting in his teammate’s paths.

Kindaichi threw the ball, but he couldn’t smile because Kunimi managed to catch it when he flew to the highest hoop. The two looked at each other, and the quaffle happened to be in Akaashi's hands in a matter of seconds.

“I assured him that Kenji-chan wouldn’t do anything. I think I kind of regret having done it.” Oikawa expressed, glimpsing Kunimi’s renewed confidence, knowing that contrary to the words he had just uttered, he was happy to see the black-haired keeper perform safely even though his first match turned out to be a bad experience.

Suga glanced at him before returning his attention to the game.

The Ravenclaw captain studied the other team's positions in a matter of seconds.

If he gave the quaffle to Ennoshita, who was basically asking him with his exalting gaze and body that he couldn’t keep quiet, Suna would be busy with him because he was the closest and therefore couldn’t save Kenma from being beaten by a bludger that was beginning to turn towards him since Yahaba had made that happen. And as Sakusa was the one to receive the ball at the same time that Kenma could continue in search of the snitch because Suna could send the bludger to another side, an amber look on the rostrum intensified.

Tsukishima threw his bat to Akaashi when the same stretched out his arm because he knew that the blond wouldn’t be able to redirect the bludger that was going to the chaser that had made a pass, and went back to follow the same path as Sakusa after having directed the bludger to any other side to then returned the bat to Tsukishima. Even after all, Sakusa, who was considered one of the best quidditch players, couldn’t score another ten points when the ball was stopped by Daishou before he managed to pass any of the hoops, getting Sakusa to scrunch his nose when his move didn't end up in points.

Iwaizumi took the quaffle at the same time that Oikawa basically clinged to Suga.

The only seventh-year chaser in the game knew what was going through Kindaichi’s head, so after managing to avoid Tsukishima who had gotten in his way, he threw the ball to Kindaichi, who in turn dodge the captain of the opposing team and in that way, was able to score the first ten points for Slytherin after also getting Kunimi not to reach the lowest hoop.  Neither of them was surprised by the strategies that the Ravenclaws were developing, since after the defeat against Gryffindor, both had chosen to start practicing more frequently so that the passes between them were perfected, since they already had the necessary confidence.

Kindaichi formed a celebratory fist with his hand and smiled when he was seen by the other fifth-year with his eyes half closed, although Kunimi took advantage of his distraction, and Kindaichi couldn’t even move when Ennoshita passed by his side at full speed to take the ball that the keeper of his team threw at him. And on that occasion, Kunimi was the one who smiled while Kindaichi looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Ennoshita advanced with Tsukishima and Suna close to him, but he began to feel the nerves that the other two dismissed when Kyoutani didn’t hesitate to approach them even if they were to face three against one. The Ravenclaw chaser didn’t want the two and only beaters of his team to be immobilized, so he quickly stopped being between them after descending at full speed and therefore separating from them. And he achieved his task when Kyoutani didn’t doubt to go after him and the two began to fly closer and closer to the grass.

Ennoshita understood that it would be a real game, totally different from the one they had played before against Hufflepuff, when the sixth-year Slytherin didn’t hesitate to collide with him to take the quaffle, the shock causing Ennoshita to fall off his broom and roll through the grass several times. And nobody blamed Tsukishima when he stepped aside on his own when Kyoutani flew past him and got Slytherin to turn over the result after getting another ten points for his house.

Even though, Kyoutani couldn’t afford to celebrate.

Since he, like everyone else, saw the exact moment in which Yahaba hit his bat against a bludger to prevent it from hitting Ennoshita, who after realizing that he had been defended by a player of the opposite team, quickly got up and again mounted on his broom.

After almost a year without playing, Kyoutani had scored for his team.

And Yahaba hadn’t even seen him because he had prevented Ennoshita from being beaten.

"We didn’t promise to face each other so many times for our meeting to end faster than we thought," Yahaba mentioned along with an amused smirk on his face to the one who flew to be at the same height as he and the rest of the players. “Besides, would you look at that, you're already losing. You being unconscious for a bludger wouldn’t have allowed me to tell you that.”

Kyoutani grunted, and Ennoshita held an entertained smile.

Akaashi moved his hands to tell Kunimi to pass him the quaffle taking advantage of the fact that the most violent player of the other team was distracted, and the keeper didn’t doubt to pay attention to his captain, who seconds before had exchanged a couple of words with the two beaters of his team. He looked around, and Ennoshita remained extremely confused when instead of throwing it at him, since he was free, Akaashi passed the ball to Sakusa. The captain pointed at his own chin before following the other chaser on his team, and at that precise moment, all the consequences that Ennoshita's body had ignored because of the adrenaline, fell on him like an incredibly cold bucket of water.

He rubbed his chin with his fingers when he didn’t understand his best friend, and remained motionless for a few seconds when he noticed that the tips of his fingers were stained by small red dots, until he calmed down again because he knew that if it was a serious wound, Akaashi wouldn’t have let him continue playing. Even if in any case, that didn’t stop him from feeling a great pain in the same shoulder that Kyoutani had hit him before, and a slight burning coming from his right cheek.

He remained upset when he realized he hadn’t moved from his spot, but let out a soothing sigh when he saw that Akaashi tie the game after scoring another ten points for Ravenclaw since Sakusa had returned the ball to him. He had thought that during that game he would have to be Akaashi’s support, but he had remembered that if Akaashi had been chosen as the team captain, was because he didn’t intend to settle for a defeat for a second time. Ennoshita returned to concentrate on the game at the same time he glimpsed that a bludger hadn’t hit any part of his body just because Tsukishima had found himself close to him.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Iwaizumi took the quaffle in his hands, but was forced to give it to Kyoutani because a bludger blunted the tip of his broom enough to make him lose his balance for a few seconds.

Suga felt that he stopped breathing when Oikawa got hold of him.

Suddenly a bludger hit the quaffle in Kyoutani’s hand as well as another one blew his broomstick, so unconsciously he let go of the ball so that Ennoshita could caught it and quickly headed to the other side of the field along with the other two chasers of his team. And the Slytherin growled when Suna and Tsukishima looked at each other and then at him.

If they couldn’t stop him with players, then they would stop him with bats and bludgers.

Akaashi knew that no player was completely free of the other balls in the game, and that a play could change because of the bludgers, so he hadn’t hesitated to make it clear to his team's beaters, although he didn’t doubt that they too would have been aware of the same thing. However, Kuroo knew the same, so he prevented Ravenclaw from earning other points to their house when he stopped the chasers play by deflecting a bludgers towards them, and in that way getting Kindaichi to have the quaffle in his power.

Kyoutani didn’t doubt to clash with Ennoshita in the process of receiving Kindaichi's pass, which was somewhat clumsy because even though they were part of the same team, the fifth-year couldn’t get used to his hostile look nor his reluctant attitude, since he was also accustomed to the different treatment that Iwaizumi and Oikawa had with him. And in addition to Ennoshita, the guardian of the Ravenclaw’s team saw the strength of the Slytherin’s chaser’s movements when he couldn’t stop his haul and his fingertips felt a discomfort when he only managed to brushed the quaffle.

Kuroo held a sideways smile after seeing with his own eyes that he had made a good decision in choosing an aggressive offensive to combat Ravenclaw's mental strategies. Kunimi shook his hand to get rid of the nuisance on his fingertips and Kindaichi looked at him worried, until he shook his head because he knew it wasn’t the time to get distracted.

The match turned into a draw, and although Akaashi opened his mouth to ask his best friend if he was okay because he was the only one to face Kyoutani's aggressive moves, he couldn’t say anything because Ennoshita didn’t hesitate to ask the quaffle to Kunimi, who throw it without any doubt at him.

Suddenly both Ennoshita and Kyoutani disappeared when the first of them descended with extreme speed to get between the wooden structure that surrounded the field, and the second didn’t doubt to pursue him. And although Yahaba was busy because he had to deflect the bludgers since Kuroo seemed to be incredibly busy after chasing both chasers with his eyes, he couldn’t help but feel worried.

A bludger sent away by him was directed towards Kyoutani by Suna so that he couldn’t eliminate the centimeters that would allow him to remove the quaffle from his team's chaser, and therefore gave Ennoshita the necessary opportunity to again gain the advantage for Ravenclaw.

And after the tie was left behind, Kuroo approached Kyoutani.

“Change your mobility. Bludgers will continue to address you if you don’t change your strategy. Yahaba and I will protect you as soon as you have the ball, but don’t look for direct confrontations." He stated, looking at him.

Kyoutani only looked at him before moving, and Oikawa and Suga exchanged serious glances. Nobody could see Kenma and Futakuchi, and Sakusa intercepted the pass that Daishou did to Kindaichi before deciding to throw it to Akaashi, who couldn’t receive it because Iwaizumi got between them to take the quaffle in his hands, making Suga covered his ears when Oikawa screamed while Matsukawa and Hanamaki laughed.

The victory was something the two teams craved. Neither house wished to add another defeat to their list. They had done it in different ways, but after all, both teams had prepared to make the game a battle worth playing, and Iwaizumi showed that the sixth-years of the two teams weren’t the only ones present in the game, when he tied the result after passing the ball through the highest hoop. He was aware that all the Ravenclaw’s players spent all the seconds thinking, and although he also knew that he wasn’t the best player when it came to strategies, it was clear to him that his strength wasn’t something that could be passed over no matter the number of planified tactics, and that if Hufflepuff had previously won over Ravenclaw by force, then he planned to do the same.

Suga looked indignantly at Matsukawa and Hanamaki, who continue to laughed and felt sorry for him because Oikawa began to applaude as well as held a goofy smile on his face. It was true that both Iwaizumi and Oikawa were tired thanks to the events of the previous night, but no lack of sleep would make Iwaizumi stop giving everything of himself in the field, as well as nothing would stop Oikawa for cheering him.

Akaashi and Ennoshita exchanged glances with each other, and Kuroo watched them.

“Don't go after him!” He screamed after knowing that what that look had meant.

But it was too late, and the strategy just created by the two leaders of the Ravenclaw team, was launched when Ennoshita took the quaffle and was instantly chased by Kyoutani. Suna stuck to the tactic, and instead of focusing on directing bludgers to the sixth-year Slytherin, he directed one of the balls towards Kuroo so that he couldn’t get in Ennoshita’s way. Akaashi got into Yahaba's field of vision, and Sakusa mocked both Iwaizumi and Kindaichi when he shouted to have the quaffle been passed to him to distract them after making them think that a second tactic had been put into practice since he never asked for the quaffle aloud.

Ennoshita flew higher than the previous time to avoid running into the field’s grass, but couldn’t help it because the bludger that Tsukishima directed towards Kyoutani, only raised him, so he took the opportunity to collide against Ennoshita and make him lose the total balance. The Ravenclaw again found himself in the grass when he was thrown from his broom and fell from a higher height. He felt that his whole body weighed on him, but that didn’t prevent him from looking at the hoops anyway.

He had foreseen that Suna would be busy with the other players, so only with Tsukishima, although he was a good player, still wasn’t on the same level as the other even though he seemed to have improved since the game against Hufflepuff; so Ennoshita hadn’t hesitated to throw the quaffle before Kyoutani hit him to try to take it from him.

Ennoshita saw how Daishou didn’t arrive in time to stop it before the ball crossed the hoops after thinking that the sixth-year chaser of his team would managed to get it out of the Ravenclaw’s hands, so he only celebrated internally after verifying that smiling broadly hurt him. He had no strength and his whole body implored him to lay on the grass instead of playing and confronting the other chaser who was more than willing to hit him as many times as he needed, but he was aware that the result could change at any moment, so he quickly went to his broom to continue making the victory something that belonged to Ravenclaw.

Akaashi raised an eyebrow as he certainly narrowed his eyes when he noticed that Ennoshita blinked several times after he had gone from laying on the grass to being at the same height as the others, but suddenly his attention was out of his best friend when it was taken for a small golden ball that quickly floated around him.

He recognized the snitch in a second, and after seeing it get away from him with the same speed, he looked around in case he had to move to allow Kenma to go after it, but he frowned when he didn't see him, nor Futakuchi, and again scanned the field with his eyes only to realize that if the snitch had passed near him and continued flying freely, was because neither of the two seekers were behind it.

His eyes met Ennoshita’s, and after gesturing Kenma’s name, he watched Ennoshita look for him in the same way that he had done it with his gaze, until again they shared a look with the same type of expression on their faces, although Akaashi remained dumbfounded because suddenly his hair was shaken when from one moment to the next, Suna appeared at his side after having prevented a bludger from hitting him.

Ennoshita approached them, and the two watched the beater breathe deeply, showing that while the match against Hufflepuff had been difficult, at that time everyone really wanted to prove that they really didn't want to leave the field with a second defeat.

“Are you okay?” Akaashi asked him.

"Yeah,” Suna replied, trying to control his breathing, “They’re good,” He added, since even though he knew that his own game was good, he was also aware that the other beaters in the game were as well. But he stopped focusing on Yahaba and Kuroo once he rested his eyes on the leaders of his team. “Under the field. The two of them.”

Neither Ennoshita nor Akaashi needed him to add another word to understand that he had referred to the fact that he had spotted Kenma between the wooden boards that surrounded the field, and Futakuchi with him. Akaashi made a fist with his hand, and Ennoshita scanned the part of the field where he had previously found himself when he had flown with Kyoutani behind him between the wooden planks, and as soon as he continued without finding Kenma with his eyes, the concern replaced any other emotion.

There were only two options.

Kenma had stopped chasing the snitch because a panic attack had made its appearence in the middle of the game, and Futakuchi seemed to have decided to be a good person after he also stopped looking for the snitch, or Futakuchi had been the one to provoke that attack.

But there was only one option when it came to kenma.

Ennoshita rested his attention on Suna, and he looked at him while Akaashi interpesed his gaze between them, until Suna didn’t need the vice-captain of his team to say anything to understand the intentions behind his serious gaze.

“Are you sure?” He asked him.

"I trust you and I know him." Ennoshita said.

Suna simply grimaced before moving away from them, and although both Ennoshita and Akaashi observed the way in which Kyoutani achieved a tie and it was heard that Sakusa remained without company, they looked at each other again, because if there was something that interested them more than winning, was knowing if Kenma was fine.

"Trust me." Ennoshita asked him.

“I do. You are my vice-captain.” Akaashi assured him.

Ennoshita laughed happily when he heard him, but suddenly took his broom stick harder when for a moment he thought he was accompanied by two Akaashis instead of just one.

“Do you have to be replaced?”

Akaashi was worried about Kenma, but that didn’t take away that since the beginning of the game, Ennoshita had been flying from side to side at maximum speed, descending and ascending, exchanging the height of his game as well as receiving Kyoutani’s blows.

"Hell no," Ennoshita expressed after blinking several times to regain his composure. “I know we're not an aggressive team, but oh man, it feels so good.” He added, because beyond the pain in his body, the adrenaline continued to keep him on his broom.

Both finally stopped observing each other when the numbers changed because Iwaizumi had taken the advantage for Slytherin, and they only crossed glances between them before again becoming part of the game. Tsukishima and Sakusa watched Akaashi draw an imaginary cross on his chest with his index finger, and the first made a face of disgust as the second continued to hold the same expression.

Kunimi stooped a shot from Iwaizumi at the same time that Suna moved away from the rest of the players, being chased by Kuroo and Yahaba with their eyes, since they didn’t understand why he distanced himself from the others when in fact he had to be near the players of his team to protect them from bludgers as well as divert them. But Suna simply let out a sigh before holding a small, sideways smile.

“Yikes.” He said.

Unlike Ennoshita and Akaashi, he had seen where Kenma and Futakuchi were, and after the vice-captain of his team told him that it was okay to make that play, he intercalated his gaze between the bludgers until he rested his attention on the one that Kuroo diverted so that it didn't hit Iwaizumi, and after flying and holding his bat with security, instead of hitting it to another side or to one of the Slytherin players, he sent it to the place where he had sighted the two seekers of the teams.

Ennoshita watched the bludger be sent to the wooden planks on the left side of the field and didn’t regret having told Suna to make that move, since if Kenma was having a panic attack, then the only way to get him out of it would be with a surprise, and an unexpected bludger would be surprising enough. He had thought that he would have to be Akaashi’s support, but at no time he had thought of ceasing to be Kenma’s, as well as Ravenclaw’s.

He watched Tsukishima direct a bludger towards Kyoutani when he held the quaffle in his hands, and if he wanted his house to be the one to hold the advantage again, then he couldn't let him continue moving freely. He didn’t forget that Akaashi had told him that if they couldn’t be aggressive within the field, then they would be outside of it. But he never told him they couldn’t be both.

He quickly flew to face Kyoutani, and when he watched Akaashi not so far from him, as well as Suna flying over them with the tip of his tongue on his side because after all he hadn't wanted to stop being focused on the game though that would have meant that he hoped he could have helped Kenma, he held a smile on his face when he learned that they would allow the competition that characterized Ravenclaw, to be demonstrated, although not because they competed with each other, but because they didn’t hesitate to join forces to defeat a common enemy.

But at the same time, Yahaba’s habits made him move his arm to direct a bludger towards them, since he didn’t intend to allow the Ravenclaws to be the only ones to show the loyalty between them, and both Tsukishima and Kuroo followed the same bludger with their eyes when that rose from the wooden planks.

And suddenly, Kindaichi remained motionless in his place just as Iwaizumi stopped flying, and Kunimi and Daishou directed their eyes towards the same place when the rapporteur's expression was accompanied by the entire rostrum once it was finally clear why not everyone opted for joining the quidditch teams.

The quaffle rolling on the ground was the least observed by the spectators. Both Bokuto and Tanaka remained with their eyes wide open, Osamu brought his hands to his mouth, and Yahaba frowned when three of the chasers on the game ended up away from their brooms. Suna had risen to remove from the scene the bludger sent by Yahaba, getting Kyoutani to be distracted when he flew over him, and therefore to be caught between Akaashi and Ennoshita, although his fierceness made the three end up colliding with each other, and that Suna also lost his balance when him broom collided with Kyoutani’s.

Suna took a deep breath through his mouth while he remained with the palms of his hands and his knees on the grass, his bat and broom away from him, although he looked up when he heard someone coughed, and instead of resting his attention on his glove when with that he brushed a corner of his mouth after feeling pain coming from that area, and only managed to see blood in it, he looked at Ennoshita when he remained laying with his back on the grass, definitely accepting the tiredness that the game had been causing in his body. He coughed until he decided that he could rest the little strength he had left in his elbows to rest them on the grass, and the two watched Akaashi when he grimaced after brushing the left side of his neck with his fingers, knowing that he probably had scraped that area because it burned him, and because he also stretched the neck of his uniform to see it broken. He was seated on his knees, and finally the three looked seriously at Kyoutani when he rested his palms on the grass to peel his back off it, part of the protection of his left arm being broken.

Ennoshita and Akaashi observed each other only thinking the same.

They could definitely be aggressive on the field too.

But again they stopped watching each other when they heard that Suna let out a small chuckle.

"Why didn’t I choose chess club.” He said.

The leaders of his team chose to giggle instead of focusing on the fact that they heard Kyoutani growl. They had already forgotten the quaffle, just as they were ignoring the fact that the rostrum had been quietly silent and that the other players remained immobile on their brooms. Ennoshita held a big and satisfied smile on his face when he finally noticed a smile on Akaashi's face, until like everyone else, they suddenly heard a whistle.

Ennoshita wondered if it really hadn’t been a better idea to have cancelled the match beforehand and Akaashi closed his eyes at the same time he let out a sigh, until like the others, they directed their eyes towards Coach Ukai after the whistle had been blown. But the two remained completely stunned after realizing that instead of having blown it to pause the game because of the coalition between the four of them, he had done so because the game had come to its end.

The prolonged silence was cut when shouts of joy came from the part of the stands that was occupied by the Ravenclaw students, but both Akaashi and Ennoshita ignored the supportive encouragement of their housemates, when they were only able to focus on the fact that of the three of them, Kenma turned out to be in the worst state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A potion is not always necessary to tell the truth.


	61. Chapter 61

Akaashi and Ennoshita remained still after realizing that the game had come to an end and that their house had won because Kenma had managed to catch the snitch. But the reason for their real surprise was to watch Kenma descend from his broom to hand the little golden ball to Coach Ukai, who also chased with his eyes the one who quickly moved away from everyone to head towards the exit of the stadium, with tears on his cheeks and seeming to be completely anguished.

And although Ennoshita was the first to get up to move towards him, he soon felt a hand on his shoulder that held him back. He turned around to see Akaashi looking at him seriously, who seemed to have used his last forces to get up just as quickly when they had both spotted Kenma.

“You go to the infirmary, he beat you too much.” Akaashi stated looking at him.

"But—"

Akaashi’s extremely firm blue gaze on him was necessary for him to understand that no meant no, but not for that he would cease to be his vice-captain, his right hand both outside and inside the quidditch field, so he hold his hand on his shoulder too.

“You have to know he recently had a panic attack. Because of he.”

Ennoshita observed the way in which Akaashi removed his eyes from his hand on his shoulder to lay them on him. The blue of his eyes went from impressed to completely serious, and he felt the way in which Akaashi's body tightened under his hand. But his captain only nodded, and Ennoshita stopped holding his hand on his shoulder so that Akaashi could chase Kenma.

But the Ravenclaw players weren’t the only ones to start descending from their brooms once they understood the game was finally over, and Akaashi’s determined gaze was received by someone else.

The Ravenclaw’s team captain braked before turning to face the captain of the opposing team when he hadn't needed to take a look before to know it was him, and suddenly Kuroo remained still in his place. "No." Akaashi determined, and Kuroo unconsciously raised his chin as he straightened when the threat aura simply enveloped the Ravenclaw who stood in front of him. “You told me you would protect him and you didn't.” Akaashi frowned, not even wanting to think about the way Kenma had probably felt when he had had a panic attack. “And neither did I.” He added with the same angry voice. Frustrated because Kenma hadn’t told him about it and he had just learned about it from Ennoshita. “I have always allowed you to approach him no matter how badly you did him. But this time, no. You said I can learn from mistakes. I already let you be near him. I made a mistake. So now just stay away. ”

Kuroo remained completely still in his place although Akaashi stopped being with him to resume his step towards Kenma, who had already disappeared from the stadium. No one was still flying in the air when the other Slytherin players descended from their brooms. Those who had been substitutes approached those who played, and Ennoshita was chased by Yahaba’s eyes when he was forced to go to the infirmary by Suna after the first helped the latter get up.

The other Ravenclaw players dispersed themselves.

They had won, they had achieved victory. But none of them was smiling.

Kunimi was the only one who held a small smile on his face when Kindaichi gave him the same gesture, but then withdrew from the field just like the rest of his teammates. Oikawa had promised him that Futakuchi wouldn’t do anything to him, but he hadn’t told him the same about his team seeker. Fukunaga approached them, and although the Ravenclaw students continued to applaud like some other people in the stands, none of the players who had won the victory for the house characterized for the color blue, chose to stay celebrating.

Kuroo continued to remain completely still, as if he wanted to imitate a statue, although with the only difference that he could hear the strong beating of his heart, as well as the tension invading every inch of his skin. His eyes were still where he had previously seen Kenma running, knowing that if he had left the stadium in that way was because he had been desperate to do so.

Akaashi had been right?

Was it because of him that Kenma had been crying?

No. He didn’t allow himself to think that.

Each one had concentrated on complying with the position they played in the team, and they hadn’t crossed at any time during the game.

Was it possible that during the previous night he had done something to annoy Kenma in that way even if he had felt, and continued to feel that he was the one hurting while Kenma the angry of the two? Was it possible that he really had no way out, and was he really destined to hurt Kenma even if he didn't want to? Provoke him that kind of sadness, of despair to run away from him?

Both Oikawa and Suga recognized the thought that dominated him at that time, both wondering if perhaps, before what happened with Bokuto, he and Kenma had crossed previous words, since Konoha had finally found them together.

“Kuroo.” The second articulated.

“I'm out.” Kuroo breathed.

No. It wasn’t possible that he had hurt Kenma enough to make him leave like he did.

“Kuroo...”

“No.” The mentioned one turned to face all the players on his team who at that time remained completely impressed. Kyoutani had already risen to join them, and they all remained in the same way. With his eyes and ears on the captain of the team they composed, no matter what was happening around. “This time I really am done.”

"It's not your fault." Oikawa said.

It wasn’t the captain who had lost. But the whole team.

“I know it's not my fault.”

Everyone was even more surprised by those words.

Slytherin had lost two games and from that moment on they only had one more game to play. It was evident that they wouldn’t win the Quidditch Tournament and that they wouldn’t be the ones to raise the championship cup. But to the surprise of the players who composed the team, Kuroo didn’t blame himself as they thought he would. The seventh-years especially remained stiff when Kuroo held a look that only appeared on his face when he was completely sure of his person. A look they hadn’t seen for too long, and that had appeared momentarily when he had approached the Gryffindor table.

“I trust the decisions I made. I trust the advice I gave." He stated.

His voice was extremely grave, and unconsciously Oikawa wrapped Iwaizumi’s arms with his hands, Iwaizumi realizing that if Oikawa had been chosen vice captain and Kuroo as captain, was because he could even make Oikawa feel intimidated or unsure of what could happen, and chose to rest one of his hands on his.

“If you had listened to me, and you wouldn’t have played the way you did, Akaashi and Ennoshita wouldn’t have been able to decipher the direction of your moves.” Even Kyoutani, who was characterized and had shown that he could be the most aggressive player in the field as well as the most frightening outside of it, swallowed when Kuroo's gaze was rested on him. “I told you not to follow him because the bludgers would be directed at you and therefore your moves would end quickly. And if you plan to play in the next game, I inform you that attacking other players is not our style.”

Kuroo knew exactly the difference between holding an aggressive offense and looking for a fight through quidditch, and he didn't doubt that his eyes had noticed the difference in the way Kyoutani had faced the chasers of the other team.

Yahaba pursed his lips. He didn’t like Kyoutani being scolded, let alone when seconds before the match ended, he had been part of the collision between the players, but he didn’t jump in his defense.

"And I have no idea what you've done to Kenma," Futakuchi felt a complete chill run through his body when Kuroo focused on him. His voice had worsened just as the gold of his eyes had darkened. “But I know. I just know,” He began to say, because although last night Kenma had told him otherwise, he still believed that they still knew each other and that they weren’t two strangers. “He reached the snitch because he was desperate to make the match end because you probably provoked him. And if instead, you had focused on just catching the snitch, we would have had more time. More chances to win.”

Yahaba also didn’t jump in his best friend’s defense, since his suspicions had been correct.

“I trust myself as the team leader and I trust the decisions I make. But I won’t remain as captain when you don’t listen to me and during matches you do what you want. Being a leader doesn’t mean being a tyrant who gives orders and doesn’t let anyone do what they want. But it doesn’t mean that I’ll be the head of the team just to see how you waste all of our practice time and the effort of the rest of the players.”

Iwaizumi watched Oikawa when he felt that the squeeze of his hands on his arms diminished, and he rested his eyes on his lips when he formed a smile. A smile Oikawa didn't hesitate to hold because he had been wrong.

Losing hadn’t made Kuroo's confidence disappear, but to reappeared and left in evidence why he had been chosen as the team captain.

“Don’t quit. They should be the ones to quit." He said, and they all rested their eyes on Oikawa when he spoke. “You said it. You also worked hard. You are the captain. Whoever doesn’t agree with that, should leave. Not you."

Yahaba was grateful to have decided to put effort in his development as a player, since if Kuroo alone could get to instill fear on his own, with Oikawa by his side he didn't even want to know the consequences.

“Do you want to stop belonging to the team? No one stops you." Oikawa added, his eyes between Futakuchi and Kyoutani. “Are you going to keep wasting the games? You can go. We have players to replace you that I don’t doubt really want to see the team win. If you will only be starting players to not take into account other’s words, then there’s no sense for you in continuing here.”

Oikawa was aware that they still needed Kyoutani although his performance hadn’t been the best, and that Futakuchi was the only Slytherin seeker and therefore he was completely necessary. But that didn’t erase that he did speak the truth.

The entire team should want to win to truly stand. Everyone had to respect each other.

“I won’t.”

Everyone rested their eyes on Kyoutani when he spoke.

And while the others were surprised to hear him speak, Yahaba rolled his eyes because he knew that was his way of apologizing. Never saying sorry, never apologizing for his actions and the consquences they could hold. And he knew it from personal experience.

“Me neither.”

Kuroo continued equally serious although Futakuchi also spoke.

He didn’t care if he had expressed those two words. If he found out that he had done something to Kenma, then he wouldn’t hesitate to throw him out of the team, even if though that would showed that he didn’t know how to impose any kind of limit between what happened on and off the field.

"Then it's settled." Oikawa said, still clinging to Iwaizumi's arm.

Suga held a calm smile on his face, and placed his gaze between the two team leaders until he rested his eyes on Kuroo. “Do you stay, Captain?” He asked.

Kuroo was only sure of one thing.

"Yes." He replied.

A leader stayed with his team even in the worst moments.

Right after the tension to the possibility of being without leader was discarded, the same was replaced by the disappointment of what having lost a second game meant, and Kuroo couldn’t help but sighed in frustration.

The triad of official’s chasers of the game hadn’t been able to act offensively because Kyoutani had decided to channel his anger towards the players of the other team, instead of allowing the two at his side to take advantage of that motivation to make certain passes and score points with security, and therefore Iwaizumi and Kindaichi hadn’t been able to demonstrate the synchronization they had been deepening between them after practicing several afternoons. Yahaba had made it clear that the reason he had agreed to return to the team had been to face in an entertained way the one he had saved from being hit by a bludger after hitting it with his bat, demonstrating his ability as a beater even if it had been in favor of the opposing team. While on his part, Futakuchi hadn’t chosen to cross in the middle as in the previous game, but to take advantage of his position as a seeker to harass the other who occupied his same position and therefore lose the snitch of sight after it being relegated to a second plane.

They had gotten a second defeat, and unless they were able to score a large number of points against Hufflepuff in the last game they had left to play, then Slytherin would remain with its hands away from the Quidditch Cup for that year.

Kuroo looked at the doors of the Quidditch field.

The Ravenclaw’s students celebrated although the players who represented them by being mounted on their brooms, had disappeared since the team seeker had left as soon as he had the opportunity to do so after having caught the snitch and therefore achieved the victory for the blue color, who also turned out to be the other great frustration in the form of oppression in the chest of the Slytherin team captain. He wasn’t even sure if the situation could continue to get worse. 

* * *

Ennoshita looked around him. He was the only one in the infirmary since not even one of the nurses was present. He hadn't hesitated to tell the others that he could be left alone because in the end he hasn't received any serious blow to worry about, although he had anyway chosen to accept being accompanied by Suna because Akaashi had left him in charge, and after all, he had been part of the coalition too. But Suna had only fallen on the grass less awkwardly than he, Akaashi, and Kyoutani, so he had already left after Ennoshita assured him he was well. He didn't doubt that the nurses were in the infirmary tent that always stood next to the Quidditch pitch when a match was being held, while he was in the ward of the Hogwarts infirmary since he hadn't wanted to be the only one of the team in staying close to the field.

So it was just him.

He and everything his body felt.

The second fall that had even been worse than the first had unleashed its consequences on his organism, and he was still recovering from the coalition that had happened at the end of the game. He couldn’t sit on one of the beds because he was too restless although he was also extremely tired. Fatigue ran through his limbs, discomfort on his face and pain on the rest of his body. The palms of his hands hurt after those were the first thing that prevented his face from hitting the lawn, although that didn’t prevent him from hurting him anyway since the right side of his chin was burning, his right cheek felt sharp, and he felt a great discomfort next to his right eye. His shoulders ached, especially the right one after he had faced Kyoutani so many times.

But despite being beaten, he was extremely happy and satisfied with his performance.

His house had won and he had fulfilled what he had promised, get them to win and have fun while playing. He could still feel the emotion running through his veins, and he guessed that the adrenaline that still ran through his body was the same that made him feel very hot. All the players had been wrapped up because it was still cold, and they had to be with more clothes on if the game was developed at a height even higher than normal. He began to remove all the pieces of the uniform he used when he was mounted on his broom, but the heat continued to emanate from his body.

Quickly his torso was discovered, and he had the chance to see the consequences that the game against Slytherin had caused him in the rest of his body. Two large purple bruises contrasted with the pale skin of his left shoulder as well as a smaller bruise accentuated its place on his arm. And he could see another small bruise in the right side of his hip, just inches from the start of his uniform pants.

“The blows also affected your body temperature?”

Despite making that comment to cause laughter, Tanaka remained serious when he entered the infirmary and sighted the bruises with which Ennoshita’s body counted, although those bruises weren’t the only thing in which he fixed his attention. It was easy to say that Ennoshita had a striking body, since someone with a weak physique wasn’t able to neither face Kyoutani nor belong to one of the quidditch’s teams. The Ravenclaw’s chaser’s arms were muscular and his abdomen was slightly defined as well as his shoulders marked.

Ennoshita also didn’t laugh at Tanaka's words. The Gryffindor had been the last person he had expected to see, and was surprised to realize that he had been in the strands while he played. He hadn’t spoken to him since he had practically exclaimed that he hated him for the effects of the Veritaserum potion, so his bewilderment was evident when Tanaka approached him.

"Congratulations for winning," Tanaka said, making a great effort to see him only in the eyes.

Ennoshita didn’t understand why he congratulated him instead of telling him that he hated him too.

But he didn’t plan to miss the opportunity.

"Tell that to my captain, he didn’t even let me celebrate." He said along with a small smile.

“You’re the vice-captain, I would say you can celebrate too.”

“Celebration with gauze and bandages,” Ennoshita released a giggle and watched those objects of medical care that he had managed to find and that he had left on one of the beds.

"It's not funny, you know." Ennoshita remained serious when Tanaka looked at him, “I was worried when I saw you fall from your broom, and even more when you collided. Why aren’t you checking your wounds?”

Instead of answering, the Ravenclaw showed him his hands that in addition to having severe scratches, in turn didn’t stop shaking. Because although the match was over, Ennoshita continued to feel all the emotions going through his body.

He had been uneasy since he had risen, because although he was always like that when he knew he would be part of a quidditch match, that day had been special. From the outset he had proposed that he would have to be the support of his best friends as well as the team, not only because he was the vice captain, but also because he wanted his best friends to have something to celebrate instead of being serious. He had found himself unable to remain still since he had opened his eyes, but now that the game was finally over and he had wasted all his energies, his body was finally showing him that if he had raised all his levels, he should now lower them.

And for the first time, his hands finally remained still when Tanaka covered them with his.

A wave of heat different from the one he had been feeling, was accentuated in him when that little physical contact occurred, and his body continued to warm up even though Tanaka stopped taking his hands for him to sit on the bed and the Gryffindor wet a cloth with warm water to then rest it repeatedly with extreme softness on his cut near his chin.

Ennoshita hoped that the heat on his cheeks was due to the sensations the game had left over him, or that at least that Tanaka, whom he had never before seen so focused and still, even when he had performed the most important exams, thought that. He had become accustomed to the fear and menacing aura that Akaashi's blue gaze could provoke, just as it had stopped bothering him that sometimes Kenma would use the gold of his eyes to analyze him from top to bottom. But he wasn’t used To tanaka's eyes being only focused on him.

“Now you are an expert on this?” Ennoshita asked him.

He needed to get rid of that tension.

And he smiled sideways when Tanaka let out a small giggle.

"Daichi-san may seem calm, but our practices are the most violent," He replied sarcastically, “I have taken some blows during all the matches I have played, I’m sure I can take care of you.”

The two remained serious when the last part of that sentence was formulated out loud.

Ennoshita's entire face was burning, and not because he was hurt.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm the last person you want to be with after winning a match," Tanaka added before sitting down next to him to proceed with the care of his injuries.

"It doesn’t bother me." Ennoshita said honestly.

He preferred that he take care of him instead of a nurse that would surely tell him that he would have to be more careful when it came to being in the quidditch field.

Tanaka placed a white square patch over his bruise near his chin, as well as a band-aid that was wider than a normal size near his eye, where he had made a shallower cut than the one near his mouth.

"You don’t have to pretend, Ennoshita." Tanaka inquired after removing his gaze from that part of his body to observe him.

“I'm not pretending.”

The Ravenclaw looked at him seriously.

“You told me you hate me. With Veritaserum.”

Ennoshita realized that he wasn’t the only one who had stayed with what had happened around his head. "It didn’t mean anything," He quickly said.

He knew that his words made no sense, so he didn’t blame the other when he looked at him even more seriously.

"I know I'm not the best in potions, but that doesn’t take away that the potion literally forces you to tell the truth."

“Did you forget I'm smart?”

Ennoshita regretted smiling proudly because the bruise near his chin reminded him that he couldn’t afford to do it.

"Of course not." The Ravenclaw smiled inwardly when he heard Tanaka. “But what does it have to do?”

“The truth can always be manipulated.”

“What are you talking about? Have you hit your head too?”

Tanaka stretched his neck to check that Ennoshita hadn’t hit himself elsewhere while the other let out an entertaining giggle.

"I didn’t hit my head, I just cheated on my mind."

“How?”

Ennoshita knew he was getting into dangerous territory.

“I focused on hatred, and that's why I told you I hated you.”

He supposed that ironically he had to thank Yahaba and Kyoutani for being able to tell him that he hated him, because having seen them and talking with the first of them had made him feel angry and frustrated enough to make his mind look flooding over those feelings of resentment.

“I don’t get it.”

“I chose to focus on hate because I didn’t want to think about another feeling that would make me tell you the truth.”

A chill hit Ennoshita's body as Tanaka continued to stare at him confused.

The Gryffindor wouldn’t understand him unless he told him the pure truth, and without the effects of potions in the middle. For Tanaka to understand what he was talking about, he had no choice but to be completely honest. And the truth was that Ennoshita had hated to tell him that he hated him because he had made Tanaka stop bothering him when he suddenly appeared to chat with him. He didn’t like that he stayed away from him, so having listened to him and seeing him enter the infirmary had made a warm sensation take over his muscles after thinking that he would never want to talk to him again.

“I really thought that I would never tell you, but maybe the adrenaline is helping me.”

He laughed completely nervous after starting to talk. He couldn’t believe that he was finally about to let go of the truth, but if he had faced Kyoutani and won the game, what was he so afraid of?

“The reason why I told you that I hated you, was because I...” He swallowed hard, and let out a short sigh before finally straightening and staring at him. “I didn’t want to tell you that I actually like you.” He confessed.

Tanaka remained completely stunned. His eyes opened like two large plates, and he stood with his mouth agape while Ennoshita felt that his hands began to tremble again, although not because his palms were hurt.

"I know, maybe my mind told me that being hurt would make you feel sorry for me," He quickly added, glimpsing Tanaka’s reaction, and after being aware of the reality that awaited him, the facts that had always stopped him from confessing before. “If you don’t want to stay, it’s okay. I think you actually help me with everything already.”

Ennoshita pressed his lips together. He hadn’t expected to experience so many emotions in just one day.

“Are you kicking me out?” Tanaka asked him.

“Well, you can stay if you want. But I know you don’t want to.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t need to be nice to me. I know that my feelings aren’t reciprocated.”

Ennoshita had never confessed the truth not because he was afraid, but because from the beginning he had known it would be in vain to do so when he was aware that the emotions between the two weren’t reciprocal, that confessing wouldn’t change the relationship they had.

“What are you talking about?”

“Do I need to say it?” Ennoshita held a sad smile, “She. Don’t you want to go and congratulate her because her house won too since we belong to the same?”

“She?”

"I am the beaten one, not you," Ennoshita said, “Her, Kiyoko-san. I know you like her.”

The silence that was formed for a few seconds was interrupted when Tanaka's laughter resounded throughout the infirmary while Ennoshita was the one to remain extremely confused with his reaction. Once again his heart had been betrayed. It had been stupid of him to think that Tanaka had appeared because he was worried about him, when his plan had always been to mock him.

“Are you sure you are a Ravenclaw?” Tanaka asked him, “You are such a fool.”

Ennoshita arched an eyebrow. “What? Why?”

“I don’t like her.”

“You really think I'm a fool.”

Ennoshita was angry. He had told him the truth and Tanaka was lying to him at his own face.

“Why do you think I like her?” He asked.

“Because it's obvious.”

“Why?” Tanaka asked again.

Ennoshita remembered all the situations in which he felt that his heart had left him.

"The first practices of my house." He murmured.

"I was looking at you," Tanaka said without needing the other to say anything else, “I thought you were nervous because it was your first time as vice-captain so I pretended to look the other way when you looked at me.”

“When Nishinoya and you exploded something in class. You said that you liked Ravenclaw people.”

“Why would I talk about someone who isn’t you?”

Ennoshita bit his lower lip.

“In Halloween. Your costume.”

“The ears? I didn’t know that Kiyoko-san would have the same. Tora said we should use them, and only once I arrived at the Great Hall I deduced that he did it for her. I liked them, so I decided to use them anyway.”

All his assumptions were being teared down.

“Kiyoko-san's birthday, in the Ravenclaw Tower.”

Tanaka scratched the back of his neck, seeming to be a little nervous.

“You are also from Ravenclaw. An excuse to see you.”

Ennoshita remained unsure of what to say. Perhaps he had taken Akaashi’s words so that they both maintained a broad perspective when it came to quidditch, but apparently it was possible that he hadn’t done the same with all the situations in which Tanaka was involved. “I don’t understand,” On that occasion, he was the one to speak.

“So, you don’t like Kunimi?”

The Ravenclaw couldn’t help but laugh as soon as he heard him.

“Kunimi? Why do you think I like him?”

“And Yahaba?”

Ennoshita laughed even more.

"The only fool here is you," He expressed, “I like you, not them.”

“I like you too.”

Ennoshita stopped laughing immediately.

He would have believed that Tanaka was playing a joke on him and somehow was taking revenge on him for telling him that he hated him, if it hadn’t been for the way he expressed his words and the way he observed him. No laughter or jokes in between.

"Damn you Akaashi," He murmured.

After all, his best friend had been right. And perhaps, there was the possibility that his feelings were actually reciprocated.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Ennoshita smiled in an exaggerated way.

And then he pressed his lips after feeling a pain coming from his chin.

"Stop smiling, you're hurt." Tanaka reminded him laughing.

“I think I hit my head. It’s not possible that this is happening.”

"I assure you, you didn’t hit your head," The Gryffindor assured him along with a calm smile, “Although you did it in other places," He added, looking seriously at the rest of his body.

Ennoshita licked his lips as a stream of energy swept through his body as Tanaka brushed the bruise near his hip with his fingers. Ennoshita’s abs were marked even more because his stomach contracted, and Tanaka swallowed dry, but then he frowned.

"I'll kick his ass." Tanaka determined.

"I already won." The Ravenclaw expressed, without mentioning Kyoutani.

“You won, but they beat you a lot. Akaashi collided with you, and Kenma was also beaten.”

Immediately Ennoshita’s emotions were replaced when he remembered that he had seen his best friend crying and with severe scratches on his face. Unconsciously he got up because he needed to know what had happened to him, until he remembered that he wasn’t alone, but Tanaka laughed instead of looking at him confused.

“Go. I know you're worried." He said.

Ennoshita smiled at being understood.

He quickly made his way to the doors, until he remembered a small detail.

Tanaka threw him his shirt at him before he could mention it. The Ravenclaw put on the cloth, but stood for a few seconds before looking at him.

"I really like you." Ennoshita assured him.

"And I really like you too." Tanaka said just as confidently as he.

The Ravenclaw held a widely smile, but the same gesture disappeared from his face as soon as he turned to run down the corridor with a single question in his mind.

What had happened to Kenma?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Kenma brings back the past.


	62. Chapter 62

Ennoshita continued to stroke Kenma's back while Kenma keep on sobbing on his chest as he hadn’t hesitated to rely on him after he appeared, and after he had been using Akaashi's shoulder to cry on. The two with black hair exchanged glances. They had never seen their roommate so distressed, his sobs being the only thing that was heard although Ennoshita tried to make him calm down. Both were worried since they didn’t know what it was that had made him start crying that way and then left the Quidditch field with tears in his eyes and multiple scrapes on his cheeks. They didn't doubt that those marks on his face were due to the bludger that Suna had sent towards him, but because of the tears on his cheeks, they only had one clue.

They weren’t due to a what. But to a who.

And it could only be two possibilities.

Kuroo. Or Futakuchi.

“I am done with Slytherins.”

Kenma stopped crying and hiding his head on Ennoshita's chest as the second one remained just as impressed as Kenma when they both heard Akaashi mention those words with a stern tone of voice. Both were aware that their captain had developed admirably during the game since he not only had a scrape that started from his collarbone and covered the entire right side of his neck until it reached a part of his cheek, but also a broken heart. And in any case he had played as usual and scored points for the house to which they belonged to.

Akaashi wasn’t the kind of person who used to get angry, but his roommates didn’t remain extremely surprised with his prayer anyway, since they knew he hated that others mess with his team players both inside and outside the stadium, and more when it was one of his best friends. He cared for them either at the time of playing a game or outside of it, since when he had drawn the cross on his chest, it had been not only for Tsukishima to understand that he would be the beater in charge of repelling the bludgers and so that Sakusa would remain more attentive to the same balls, but that Suna would be occupying another kind of strategy because Kenma had become the focus of attention. It was true that they were taken as those who spoke least, and for the same reason they had decided that gestures and signs would be the best way to communicate with each other, and in the process, confuse the opposing team.

“What did he do to you?” He asked Kenma.

Akaashi had told Kuroo not to follow them, and although he hadn't been happy to learn that Kenma had had a panic attack for him, he didn't think he had been the one to make Kenma cry on that occasion, since they hadn't exchanged words throughout the game. So he didn’t doubt that Futakuchi had been the one to annoy him, and ironically to have Ravenclaw win the match after annoying Kenma enough so that he was desperate to catch the snitch and finish the game as quickly as possible. Kenma rubbed his eyes and barely sat up.

"He only told me the truth." Kenma managed to hiccup.

Akaashi raised an eyebrow. Futakuchi and telling the truth couldn’t be in the same sentence.

“What did he say?” Ennoshita asked.

Kenma hugged his knees before resting his cheek on one of them.

He was aware that last night he had told Kuroo that they no longer knew each other and that he had also called him a liar. But in spite of all the times he had moved away from him, despite of all the physical and emotional distance he had placed between them, and despite all his thoughts, he couldn't help feeling his heart disintegrate when he had heard what Futakuchi had mentioned to him.

“That he and Kuroo are together and so I’ll never be with Kuroo.”

Ennoshita and Akaashi exchanged glances again.

Even for them it was obvious that Futakuchi had lied.

So why Kenma hadn’t doubt to believe him?

Because he knew a little detail that the other two didn’t.

And Ennoshita was the first to realize that.

"You never told us why you distanced yourself from Kuroo." He said.

Kenma bit the inside of his lower lip.

That moment wasn’t the first time they saw him cry, but the second time.

Because eight months ago, Kenma had returned to the room with the same tears that he had accumulated in his eyes at that same time.

“We will always be for you without you needing to explain us. Your face was necessary for us to realize that something had happened. That he did something to you. Bad enough that overnight you stopped being with him all the time, you started to walk away, and finally removed him from your life as if he had never been your best friend, the person closest to you." Akaashi expressed.

“Kenma, what happened that night?”

The aforementioned felt a lump formed in his throat.

One would think that eight months was long enough for a wound to heal, but Kenma still felt the pain in his chest that night had left him. He hadn’t forgotten the past any longer, and that was why he hadn’t forgiven Kuroo completely. Because he remembered exactly what he had done to him, what had made him decide to change the relationship between them.

"He kissed me." He confessed.

Ennoshita and Akaashi watched him.

They weren’t impressed, because they knew there was something else.

Their best friend didn’t get rid of people without some apparent excuse.

"And then I heard him say he did it to make fun of me." He added.

Kenma could remember that moment as if it had been the night before.

_He didn’t not know how it happened, or when, or at what exact moment._

_He only knew that he had fallen in love with his best friend, and that nothing could have prevented him from doing so._

_Kenma was acutely aware that he wasn’t the same as the other people around him, because while they could talk quietly with each other, form friendships without hindrance, and deal with any situation without problems, he couldn’t. He couldn’t walk through the corridors of the castle without feeling that the walls of them became increasingly smaller, that everyone rested their eyes on him because he was different, and that he could never fit in even if he didn’t try to relate to others. But ironically, it was his strength. Knowing himself, knowing how he functioned._

_Except with the people closest to him who understood him._

_And especially, him. Kuroo._

_Kenma had always had trouble understanding others, but not to understand himself. So he hadn’t doubted what really meant the rapid beating of his heart, the discomfort in his stomach, the palms of his sweaty hands, and the weakness of his thoughts when he was close to the one who had always been close to him._

_He couldn’t remember any time in his life when Kuroo hadn’t been present. When Kuroo told him that he had been sorted in Slytherin, and that a year later, his house was the one to win the Quidditch Tournament, Kenma had become happy, as had Kuroo, who once saw him entering Hogwarts to be placed in Ravenclaw, to later contribute so that his house won the Cup of the Houses, he was extremely proud of him. Kenma had met his two roommates who happened to have the same hair color but very different personalities, and Kuroo had already formed friendships on which he could base his trust, but no one and nothing represented the great bond that united them since they were small._

_They had always been together, and Kenma felt more confident when he found himself at Hogwarts and therefore closer to him. And Kuroo had also liked to know that from that year on, his best friend would be closer to him and therefore it would be easier for him to keep an eye on him as well as protect him, because he was aware of the social anxiety that Kenma was handling although his two new roommates would have turned out to be the kind of people who managed to contain him and give him the necessary support._

_After they had grown up, both practiced quidditch with each other when the practices were canceled, they gathered in the library to study and enjoy each other's company even if they remained silent and their subjects were different. They passed several minutes together after the other students chatted and they had dispersed to their respective common rooms after finishing dinner, and never took their eyes off when someone was mounted on his broom in one of the official games. They had even had the chance to play against each other, and although Ravenclaw had lost, Kenma could remember feeling just as happy to see how excited Kuroo felt after that game became the second win for his house._

_Kenma didn’t know when the minutes with him had begun to be short._

_Kuroo didn’t know why suddenly, the time with him wasn’t enough._

_Until the two realized that they needed more than they thought, and that they did it in a different way than they had been used to. They both needed each other to feel they had spent a good day, and a smile appeared on their faces once they managed to see each other in class or meet in one of the corridors. Kuroo realized that Kenma wasn’t opposed to the idea of increasingly lengthening the minutes they spent together after dinner, and Kenma was aware that Kuroo invented any excuse to seek him even if he didn’t need it. They looked for each other, and without telling, they both knew that last night at Hogwarts, the relationship between them would change._

_The next day they would return to their homes, and the summer holidays would begin. The fifth year of Kenma and the sixth of Kuroo would end, and the long summer break would begin. And the two had decided they were willing to spend all the free time that was coming, doing more than talking to each other and spending time together._

_Both Ennoshita and Akaashi had glimpsed how particularly exalted Kenma was once the dinner was over, just as Oikawa and Suga had noticed how uneasy Kuroo was while they finished trying to eat._

_Kenma accepted when Kuroo asked him to walk with him._

_And he also accepted, that once they found themselves near his room, that the elder rested his lips on his, demonstrating that he felt the same way he did. That he felt the same nervousness going through his body when they were together, that he missed him as much as he did when everyone was in their respective common room, that his feelings were reciprocated, and that he had been right in thinking that he wasn’t the only one of the two who wanted to alter the relationship they had._

_Kuroo was the only person who managed to provide him with the confidence and security he needed to be comfortable. He was the only one who made him feel extremely loved, and calm with the idea that having feelings wasn’t as terrible as it sounded. He was the only person he had ever rested on, and he was happy that his heart leapt for joy instead of sadness. He didn’t know how it had happened, not when, or at what exact moment, but he did know that they had fallen in love with each other._

_Or at least that's what Kenma had thought._

_He returned after they separated because he had needed a few seconds to gather enough courage to tell him he loved him, but only thought the opposite when he recognized Kuroo's voice, and along with his, Futakuchi's in the middle of the hall._

_"You did it to make fun of him, didn’t you?” The same of his year asked._

_“Why else would I have done it, if not?”_

_Kenma didn’t need to listen anymore._

_He didn’t need to remain listening to the rest of the conversation. And for him, everything changed since he heard those words that made it clear that his feelings could be hurt without foreseeing, that his heart could suffer suddenly, and that even the person closest to him, could decide to betray him in the worst way._

_Kenma returned to his room with tears in his eyes, and that time turned out to be the first time that Ennoshita and Akaashi saw him completely sad._

_And it was also the moment when he decided that his emotions wouldn’t be mocked again._

_That he wouldn’t let someone play with him again. And that he would do what was necessary to prevent it from happening again. Although that would involve removing the person he loved the most from his life even if he knew that his feelings weren’t returned._

And eight months later, although his promise to himself had been somewhat forgotten, it was still valid.

Knowing that Futakuchi had seen him that night and knowing that Kuroo had answered in that way were enough for Kenma to don’t have doubted the words that Futakuchi had said, that he stopped pursuing the snitch because he needed to talk to him. Futakuchi warned him to stay away because he was the one who had a relationship with Kuroo, and that he would be the only one hurt in case of trying to get into the relationship they held.

And although a bludger interrupted them, making his face count with scrapes because small pieces of the wooden structure that were broken by the ball, flew to his face, Kenma couldn’t help but thinking about his words. Kuroo and Futakuchi were together, while during the Christmas dinner, Kuroo had assured him that he loved him and that he wanted to protect him, while the previous night he had thought that Kuroo hadn't wanted him to enter the Forbidden Forest because he cared for him. His heart couldn’t stand the same situation, so he was unable to contain the tears that slid down his cheeks seconds before he caught the snitch after taking advantage of Futakuchi being still in place, because he was desperate to get out of there.

No matter what would have happened, Kenma still loved Kuroo. And for that very reason he hated himself for not being able to do exactly the opposite. He had had a panic attack because Kuroo had been able to replace him without any problem, because he continued to lie to him. Because although he said he loved him and wanted to protect him, he only did the contrary. He had played with his feelings, made his heart excited to later break it with the same intensity. He had chosen to get away from him because he didn't want to continue feeling that way, although staying away from Kuroo hadn't made him feel better about himself. He was exasperated because the confusion didn’t stop making him his prey, and because he wanted Kuroo to stop playing with him.

Ennoshita and Akaashi exchanged glances with each other when they understood the reason for everything, although that didn’t stop the two from continuing to think that there was a part of the story that was lost, because although Kuroo could do and say many things, there was no way he was willing to play with Kenma in that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Slytherins can show feelings too.


	63. Chapter 63

Anyone who would have thought Slytherins wouldn’t do nothing but remain depressed after being defeated in their second match and therefore see further and further the chances of winning the Quidditch Tournament, was extremely wrong.

Kissing each other. Kissing was the only thing that could lift the Slytherin’s spirits.

And Kunimi knew it perfectly.

He again rested his lips on Kindaichi's, knowing that his roommate wouldn’t come back because he would spend another night with Yamaguchi. The Ravenclaw had won the match, but at that moment he was kissing his best friend not because he was celebrating the victory, but because he wanted to be a distraction so that the one who corresponded to his love in the same way, didn’t focus on the defeat of his house.

Although it wasn’t the first time they kissed.

Kunimi rested his hands on Kindaichi's cheeks, and the other rested his right hand on his. The Slytherin separated from him by only one millimeter to be able to see the injuries that covered Kunimi’s fingers after he was the one on receiving Kyoutani’s shots during the match.

“Does it hurt you?” He asked him.

Kunimi shook his head simply, and looked at him smiling before deciding to move his free hand over his neck and again attract Kindaichi's mouth to his. 

* * *

Kissing each other. Kissing to distract each other.

Iwaizumi drown a moan from Oikawa in his mouth as he kissed him again.

They couldn’t afford to make noise when they had promised their roommates that it would only take them a minute before joining them in the common room, although they didn’t doubt that they already doubted about them since they had spent much more time than one minute, but they did think their two best friends were taking advantage of the time they were giving them to stay close to each other too.

Iwaizumi watched him with lust when Oikawa pulled away from him to take a deep breath. The two needed a short break after having been kissing nonstop and in a completely compromised manner since they had locked themselves in their room, laying on Iwaizumi's bed, who at that moment was with his back on it while Oikawa remained mounted on him with his knees resting on the sides of his legs, and his hands on his stomach, which the brunet wondered why it wasn’t yet free of the shirt. His hair was totally disheveled and he didn’t doubt that his lips consisted of the same mess as those of the one who continued to stare at him.

“I'm proud of you.”

Oikawa's face was invaded by surprise when he heard those sudden words, because ever since he could remember, his best friend who was quickly becoming someone else in his life, had never been excited to be proud of him. He hadn’t be so when both had managed to be chosen as quidditch chasers in their fourth year, or when the house they belonged to had won the tournament thanks to them as the rest of the team the following year. Oikawa remained tense for a few seconds, until he allowed that feeling to be replaced by a wave of calm, and a sideways smile.

"You should always be proud of me, Iwa-chan," He said, totally unconcerned. A smack to his hands that prevented him to continue drawing meaningless lines in the other's stomach was what he won. “You’re so mean, Iwa-chan!” He exclaimed shaking his hands and frowning, though he didn’t hesitate to rest them on his stomach again while Iwaizumi drew the same kind of lines on his arms. They had discovered that they had an obsession with touching and staying in physical contact all the time. “And why are you proud of me, specifically?” He wanted to know.

“Because you threaten the sixth-years as it should. You didn’t let the team disintegrate today, and the only reason we will continue to play quidditch is because you know everyone well enough to realize the sixth-years needed a bucket of cold water on their faces.”

Oikawa held a wide smile, knowing that Iwaizumi was obsessed with his gesture, so he wasn’t surprised when the same gently tugged at his shirt after just getting up and kissing his lips for a second. Iwaizumi knew that Oikawa loved being the only one to see his loving side that he didn’t show with anyone but with him.

"Besides, you prevented Kuroo from resigning as captain." He added.

“I guess in the end it makes sense that I'm the vice-captain and he the captain. I am the union of all." Oikawa said in a very proud way, and resting a hand on his own chest.

Iwaizumi looked at him completely serious.

“Don't be stupid, Selfishkawa.”

Oikawa gave a little cry when suddenly he lost his balance because Iwaizumi stopped laying down to sit on the edge of his bed. “Iwa-chan, don’t do that!” He exclaimed, looking at his back, which he didn’t hesitate to hang on after crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at him biting his lower lip while smiling animatedly, but only managed to keep Iwaizumi looking serious at him.

"I'll go to sleep." He said, since unlike Oikawa, he was tired after the game played plus everything that had happened the night before.

“What about Makki and Mattsun?” Oikawa asked, realizing something even more important. “What about me!?”

“I don’t doubt that the two of them are having fun alone. And you can look for Kuroo to spend more time and get to know each other more." He mentioned completely seriously.

Oikawa smiled completely entertained when he heard him.

"Iwa-chan, you're so obvious when you're jealous."

Iwaizumi chose to roll his eyes and ignore him, but it was completely impossible when Oikawa began to lay kisses on different parts of his neck.

"Pay attention to me." The brunet turned into a five-year-old when he couldn’t get the person he loved the most to pay him the attention he needed to be happy, and Iwaizumi was aware that Oikawa was only looking for his interest.

Oikawa formed a pout with his lips and Iwaizumi looked at him out of the corner of his eye, holding an affectionate smile.

How could he possibly have fallen in love with someone like him?

He didn’t mind thinking the answer, because he preferred to take him in his arms and begin to kiss him all over his face while Oikawa laughed extremely happy, showing him that he certainly didn't need to perform ice spells to make him want to hug him.

* * *

Kissing each other. Kissing was something they were used to do.

Hanamaki smiled as Matsukawa contoured his gesture with his thumb.

They joined their lips for a second before the one with pink hair returned to rest his head on his chest, while they continued in one of the corners of one of the sofas of the common room after waiting for the other duo that made up their roommates, although they weren’t in a hurry form them to arrive.

"I'm glad they're finally together," Hanamaki said.

Matsukawa kissed his him on the head and smiled before continuing to stroke his hair.

"Me too."

"I just wish that..." The pink-haired one let out a sigh.

“I know, that they were also together.” Matsukawa finished for him.

Hanamaki formed a sad smile, and like the one on whose chest his head was still resting, he wished that those who they had seen passing a few minutes ago, were talking among themselves or were with different expressions instead of one of them walking without stopping, while the other followed him in silence, tension being more than evident in their steps. 

* * *

Kissing each other. Kissing was something they weren’t doing.

Yahaba climbed the stairs that led to the bedrooms with the other one following his steps. He had managed to avoid him since the game was over, but the fact that both of them coincidentally decided to go to bed early had made it impossible for him to ignore Kyoutani, since he hadn’t stopped chasing him in silence since they had left the Great Hall.

But instead of moving forward, suddenly Yahaba turned in the middle of the aisle, and Kyoutani stopped before crashing with him, since he knew it wasn’t convenient for him to do so when he could feel the anger decorating the thoughts and the fury go every inch of the body of the one he was chasing.

“Don't follow me.” Yahaba determined.

“And now why are you angry?”

Yahaba became even more annoyed when he heard his question.

Wasn’t it obvious?

"You ruined the game just for being jealous." He expressed before giving him a contemptuous look. He hated that he had gotten used to talking to him being much closer to the other. “You chased him throughout the game, and Ennoshita could decipher you."

Kyoutani's frown puckered on its own as soon as he heard that name.

Yahaba didn’t understand that he really was jealous, and angry.

But Kyoutani had been chosen as a starting player and had scored his first points after not having been playing for longer than he wanted to think, only to realize that the only person whose attention he wanted to have, had kept busy preventing a bludger rammed against the player against whom he hadn’t hesitated to maintain a persistent fight throughout the game.

Kyoutani hated to feel that he had been replaced.

And he hated even more knowing that it was his own fault.

“I'm sorry.” He murmured, with his head down.

Yahaba remained motionless as soon as he heard him.

He was perfectly aware of how incredibly hostile Kyoutani could become, not only because he had rarely heard him be sincere and allow his heart to express himself, but also because he himself had been the victim of all the times Kyoutani had chosen to keep his feelings to himself because his pride was his priority. So to hear him say that he was sorry was a surprise that he didn’t expect to receive, much less at that moment, knowing how angry the two of them were. Not only because they had lost the game, but also because they continued to lose each other.

Yahaba pursued his lips, knowing his softened expression had to remain the same.

He was the only one who had fallen for that boy whose gaze only stopped being hostile when he looked at him, for the one who stopped being extremely withdrawn only when he was at his side, for the one whose expression stopped being serious when he slept beside him. He recognized that he had fallen in love with a completely complicated person, and that he also proved equally problematic, as well as acknowledging that although Kyoutani had been the one to get away, he hadn’t done anything to look for him either. He couldn’t blame all on him when they were both guilty of having spent so much time separated when they couldn’t even be separated at the time.

And he hated himself when all those reasons made his anger be replaced.

“And why do you feel sorry for exactly?”

Replaced by pain.

Kyoutani couldn’t even name all the things for which he was regretful, and Yahaba was aware of the same thing. They both knew that the team leaders had chosen them as starters so they could show they could be the best duo made up of a chaser and a beater, but they had made it clear otherwise, that if they couldn’t even get a balance between them out of the Quidditch field, then much less would they achieve victory within it.

"I hate you." Yahaba added when the other remained silent. “I hate you so much.”

A battle inside him had begun to unfold. His vision had become cloudy but the anger in his heart told him to hold back the tears that hadn’t yet slid down his cheeks, to continue to be firm and not to forget how badly he continued to feel when he thought of the boy that remained in front of him, and who that at that moment frowned again although he glimpsed a slight alteration in his tone of voice as well as the crystallization in his eyes.

Kyoutani hated that he was lying to him.

"Stop saying you hate me."

“I hate you.” Yahaba didn’t doubt to repeat.

"Stop telling me you hate me!" Kyoutani exclaimed, completely tired of hearing him mention those words, hating that they were the first ones he had already told them when they both went back to sleep in the same room. “It's frustrating hearing you say it!”

“Imagine feeling it!” Kyoutani remained immobile when Yahaba spoke with the same intensity, surpassing the lump in his throat so he could express himself. “You did this! You ruined me so this is your own fault! This is how I feel, how you made and make me feel.”

Kyoutani watched him bewildered, while Yahaba with the pain expressed all over his face, but then he looked at the ground, forming fists with his hands at the sides of his body, a gesture noted by Yahaba.

"I left because I didn't want to hurt you." Kyoutani said.

"You hurt me after leaving me so you still hurt me." Yahaba said in a broken voice, getting Kyoutani to look up again to watch him, swallowing dry because it had become clear that he had already hurt him. “If you really loved me, if you really cared about me, you wouldn't have abandoned me. And that is exactly what you did.”

"Don't you dare say that."

“It's the truth. It's the reality you created. I hate you and you should hate yourself in the same way for what you did to me, and it should hurt you in the same way.”

“It does hurt me!” Kyoutani expressed exasperatedly.

Yahaba didn’t understand that he wasn’t the only one in feeling, that it had also hurt Kyoutani to leave because he knew that he was a problematic person when it came to his emotions, and that he had chosen to walk away just because he hadn’t wanted to hurt Yahaba with his own confusion, although apparently he had achieved that no matter what decisions he had made.

"Welcome to the feeling." Yahaba expressed with resentment, knowing that the fists at the sides of his body, the tension in his figure, and the sharpness of his eyes implied that Kyoutani also felt hurt. “Guess what, it doesn't just go away.”

It was hard for him to swallow more than he would have liked. He knew that Futakuchi wouldn’t arrive to save him from the situation because he hadn’t seen him since the match was over, because only a look between them had sufficed to know that although he didn’t wanted to leave him alone, Futakuchi also needed his moments of solitude, because even though Yahaba's problems would have been the most obvious during the last few days, that hadn’t meant that Futakuchi had also taken advantage of the fact that they slept holding each other to try to free himself from his own demons.

"But hatred is not the only thing you feel for me." Kyoutani suddenly said.

"Shut up." Yahaba mentioned, barely able to speak.

“You always try to erase the rest by hating me, and you can’t. And you hate that.”

He didn't want to lose hope, he didn't want to give up. He hadn’t returned only to remain completely separated from Yahaba, to lose him because they were complicated and sometimes the boundaries between them were lost, because they couldn’t control themselves and the feelings between them were too many to be understood perfectly. He didn't want to think that everything had come to an end, and he held on to the option that hate wasn’t the only thing Yahaba felt for him.

"Shut up." Yahaba repeated in his broken voice.

But Kyoutani stepped forward, and Yahaba leaned back.

"You don’t hate me. You hate yourself for not being able to hate me despite how much you want to do it.” Kyoutani continued at the same time he took another step, and Yahaba's back met the wall.

"Enough, Kyoutani." Yahaba begged, and managed to keep Kyoutani still.

It had been a simple action, a simple decision. But for Kyoutani it meant everything, an even greater hope, a feeling that perhaps could win over everyone else.

"You said my name." Kyoutani murmured, being that the first time Yahaba had mentioned it since they had met after the winter break. He hadn’t thought it was pure coincidence that Yahaba had already chosen not to refer to him by his name since they had recognized the presence of the other. “You said my name.” He repeated louder, and took another step, making Yahaba shrink in himself. “I miss my name in your mouth.” He confessed in his broken voice.

And Yahaba broke down completely when all the memories hit his head.

All the moments they had lived together. All the mornings he had smiled at getting up and being the only one to notice that the one next to him could only have a relaxed expression when he slept. All the afternoons they had sneaked out of classes to teach each other how to love, how love felt like. All the nights they had been quiet with kisses and appeased their desires fulfilling them.

Neither of them needed to say it to know that hate wasn’t the only thing between them.

The first tear finally left Yahaba's face.

Why, it was the only thing that could be asked.

Why he still felt the same no matter how much time had passed.

Why his heart was exalted no matter how much they had distanced themselves.

Why he still loved him no matter how hard he tried to do otherwise.

Why couldn’t he make anger the only thing he felt when he had the right to do so? He had allowed his anger to handle his attitude and frustration to accompany his ease, but that didn’t take away he continued to smile frequently or that his heart had regained a part of itself since Kyoutani had reappeared in both the quidditch field and on his bedroom.

“Why did you leave me?” Yahaba asked, with more tears sliding down his cheeks. The pain of one day to the next wondering why he couldn't find Kyoutani. “Why did you hurt me?” He added, reliving the memory of pain in his chest. “Why?" He wasn't weak for expressing how he felt. He was no less than others for knowing how he felt. He wasn't inferior for accepting his feelings. “Why don't I hate you?” He asked, and Kyoutani stared at him, getting closer. “Why if you hurt me I'm still here?” He finally accepted, since he knew that in case of only feeling hate, he would only have slammed the door away instead of finding himself that way, with tears on his face and his heart asking him to give in, to stop acting that way. “Why don't I hate you even if you made a mess of me? Why?”

Kyoutani remained in front of him, looking at him, knowing that Yahaba again was collapsing because of him, even though ironically, he had been the only one who could put his pieces together again, to put him together. Yahaba watched him, and instead of feeling that his state would worsen or that panic would take hold of him, he corresponded with his entire body just as he felt completely relieved when Kyoutani hugged him tightly.

He kept crying because hate wasn't the only thing he felt, because although from the first day he had wanted to get away, leaving the quidditch field when Kyoutani had appeared in the practices, he had also wanted to approach. He had also wanted to run into his arms, to hug him and make sure it was him. Because the distance had hurt, as well as his proximity at that time.

Kyoutani sank his face between his neck and his shoulder while closing his eyes, finally counting on that opportunity he had hoped to have because hopes had never left him. Because he had hoped that hate wasn't the only thing that guided Yahaba's thoughts when he thought of him. Because he believed that it wasn’t possible for everything to end between them, because they were able to understand each other even if that brought many problems in between.

They hugged each other tightly, finally establishing physical contact between them, breaking the distance that had consumed them, and concluding the distance between the two. They held on as they were accustomed to do so, until Kyoutani separated himself from him just to observe him and see that he had already understood that hatred wasn't the only thing between them. He rested his hands on his cheeks to gently remove the tears under his eyes, getting Yahaba to close them at the touch. Kyoutani lowered his eyes to his lips, and Yahaba swallowed hard not because the panic was appearing, but because that gesture wasn’t something unknown to him, and he felt that his heart finally had a rest when Kyoutani rested his lips on his.

The taste of closeness. The recovery of habits.

Kyoutani separated from him again, although that time to prove that he wasn't mistaken, that he had shown that there was much more than hate, and that hate was the least important when other emotions continued to travel through their bodies. And after they shared a look, again they did what they were really used to doing, although on that occasion demonstrating that they had nothing in control.

Yahaba was afraid to feel that he would run out of air or that he would feel internally cornered by his own thoughts, but none of those symptoms arose when his mouth corresponded with great familiarity to Kyoutani’s, and he instantly wrapped his arms around his neck as well as his waist with his legs when Kyoutani rested his hands on his thighs. Their lips coupled in an aggressive, desperate, and provocative manner. Their tongues found each other in a matter of seconds and both of them felt how that feeling of imprudence with which they were already familiar, once again took over their movements and their bodies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: When I say Kyoutani says Yahaba said his name, I mean he said Kyoutani (I know it's his last name) but since they met again, Yahaba avoided saying "Kyoutani"
> 
> Next chapter: Closeness


	64. Chapter 64

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hello, please read this. I don't want to do a spoiler but I want to let you know so I have no other way but to do so. This chapter is all smut, explicit. So if you don't want to read it, just read the last three sentences of the chapter. And ps: sorry if it's a complete disaster.

Kyoutani carried him to the room they shared, without breaking the uncontrolled contact between them at any time, since once they started, they both knew they couldn’t stop until all their senses were satisfied and all their wishes were fulfilled, that they wouldn’t stop until all the limits have been erased.

Yahaba thought that he would throw him recklessly on his bed, so he was surprised when Kyoutani gently laid him on his mattress with him on top of him, and smiled because he considered himself an idiot for forgetting that he took care of him in the best possible way, although his personality would only shout that he was a savage. Description that anyway was coupled to his movements since Kyoutani didn’t doubt to position himself on him and place his hands on his knees to make him separate his legs and let his hips meet. A surge of intense heat ran through Yahaba's entire body until it was expressed in the form of a blush on his cheeks. He kept his arms wrapped around Kyoutani's neck while their mouths were still searching desperately, and Kyoutani took advantage of the proximity to slide a hand under his shirt, causing Yahaba's stomach to contract at the contact of his fingers on his body, going through his skin as many times before.

Their lips only parted when Kyoutani lowered his mouth to the skin of his neck, getting Yahaba to slightly throw his head back to enjoy the feeling that Kyoutani's mouth on that part of his body caused him, and Kyoutani felt even more motivated when he knew that Yahaba closed his mouth so as not to let out a sound of pleasure that both his mouth on his skin and his fingers sliding down his abdomen, caused him. Kyoutani didn’t hesitate to kiss his skin until it became clear that his lips had been there, and wiped a rebellious tear from the other's face with his thumb to allow them to stare at each other.

"A lot of time has passed since we did this," He said, observing him, knowing that he was completely to blame for saying that sentence because he had been the one to get them to spend so much time away from each other, being aware that it was only his fault for having made his physical contact with Yahaba completely diminished, even disappearing. “You haven't touched yourself, right?” He asked the boy on whose one of his cheeks he continued to rest his hand at the same time he swallowed heavily.

Yahaba knew that he had chosen to avoid the part of his brain that shouted at him to throw Kyoutani out of him and to move away as much as he could to not allow all his efforts to be in vain, that all his suffering was erased by deciding heed that part of him that begged otherwise. But he also knew that he couldn’t deny that just as there was a part of him that would probably never forgive the boy on top of him, there was also another part that reminded him of how much he liked to be by his side, totally close to Kyoutani, allowing him to observe him in the way to cause his body to be exalted and his heart to accelerate although not because it hurt, but because it excited him. Yahaba knew that a part of him surfaced when he was together with Kyoutani, that part that was happy because they were together again instead of separated, because the serious expression of the one above him also indicated that it hurt him to accept that he had been the one to make them stay away from each other.

"Well, I did sleep with Futakuchi," Yahaba replied along with a sideways smile.

The anguish in his chest hadn’t disappeared but the tears no longer decorated his face. Kyoutani increased the seriousness of his face when he heard him although both knew in what sense Yahaba had manifested that sentence. They loved each other because they hated each other, and they hated each other because they loved each other. They annoyed each other because they liked to reach each other's patience limits, and they lost their patience teasing each other.

"Funny aren’t you." Kyoutani said.

"I didn't touch myself because I wouldn't dare to make you look ridiculous."

Yahaba smiled because he had forgotten how easy as well as funny it was to annoy Kyoutani no matter how much time had passed, that being the same reason as why at first they hadn’t tolerated each other, why the couldn’t stand being part of the same team since they only argued and clashed between with each series of words expressed. He kept bothering him with the words he expressed to annoy him, which was the reason why they had initially gotten badly as soon as they had met. Because they provoked each other regardless of whether the consequences were good or bad, no matter what kind of situation they were in, and not caring that the same provocations were always the ones that led them to behave in the senseless manner in which they acted.

Kyoutani rested his lips a millimeter from his and stared at him when he moved his body to fake a thrust, sticking his hips to his provocatively, and then didn’t doubt to approximate his mouth to the ear of the one who gasped when Kyoutani's body’s movement was enough for Yahaba to react in that way, allowing that sound to leave his lips and his nails to sink slightly into Kyoutani's neck.

"That didn't sound ridiculous to me." Kyoutani whispered.

He rested a kiss on his earlobe before staring at him again, but Yahaba was the one who at that time stared at him firmly when Kyoutani rested his forehead on his, without saying anything else while keeping his eyes closed, and Yahaba also closed his eyes for a few seconds when the other parted from him to rest a kiss on his forehead, since he had never made that gesture before and he didn’t want tears to be accumulated in his eyes again for them to break with the atmosphere they had formed. But he allowed his gaze to be crystallized because he knew what Kyoutani had wanted to tell him with that gesture. That he was sorry, that he loved him, and that he longed for them to be together again in that way, that they were a disaster when they were together but also when they were separated.

"I know." Yahaba said, looking at him. “Me too.”

With his eyes Kyoutani thanked him for knowing him so as not to have to express words to show how he felt, and again thanked him by joining their mouths again, gesture that made Yahaba forget about the crystallinity of his eyes to focus on all the other sensations that were reappearing on his body, and that he kept looking after lowering his hands down Kyoutani's chest that so many times he had used as a pillow, wanting for every trace of regret to be replaced with the body heat of the one who opted to help him get rid of his fears, as he separated from him to take off his shirt.

He helped Yahaba take off his own, and they both looked for each other to join their naked torsos, allowing the beating of their hearts to be stronger as well as the contact between their skins, making the desire of the moment to continue. Kyoutani rested his hands on Yahaba's neck as well as Yahaba on Kyoutani's abs, felling the way in which they contracted for the rose of their bodies, for the heat of the moment and for the fact that they were together again. Their lips continued to become familiar, the kiss between them being desperate, as if they wanted to recover all the time apart in just a minute, as if they were getting rid of previous feelings so that they could be replaced by the enthusiasm that being closed provoked them. Kyoutani crossed the figure of his body with his hand, and Yahaba separated from him as well as he removed his mouth from his as he placed his palms on his chest, feeling how it rose and fell in the same way as his, when he felt that Kyoutani's hand remained at the beginning of his pants.

"Wait." Kyoutani removed his hand as soon as he heard him, resting it back on his neck just like the other, believing that perhaps he had gone too fast and Yahaba didn't want the situation to be so fast, although his brown eyes didn't express him that. “Do you have... you know...”

“What?”

Yahaba bit his lower lip, wanting to ask the question although not cut with the moment between the two, even though fortunately for him, Kyoutani needed to see him make that gesture as well as lower his gaze to guess the words he hadn’t said.

"Shit." He said when he understood him. “No.”

Both had clear that the situation was sudden and that none of the caresses at that time had been planned, but both of them remained still when they realized that after not having expected to approach in that way, they hadn’t taken into account the fact of having everything ready.

"Wait, I think I have an idea." Yahaba expressed looking up.

"You're not planning anything strange, are you?"

Yahaba watched him without expression, and managed to get Kyoutani away from him as he raised his hands innocently, and he finished breaking the physical contact between them when Yahaba moved his hands telling him to separate from him, and they both moved. Yahaba got up and then took his wand, and Kyoutani followed him with his eyes after he went to the window of the room they shared, and then stood to go to his side when Yahaba opened it, beginning to not be able to avoid laughing.

“What is is with you?” Kyoutani asked him, also failing to contain the small smile that appeared on his face when he spotted Yahaba tempted. He had only seen him hold a serious expression every time they had been closed, so he was glad to know that apparently the tension had stopped invading both Yahaba's body and face when they were in the same place. “What are you doing?” He asked when he spotted him sitting on the edge of the window and pointing his wand up.

"Something I really hope I never have to do again." Yahaba replied, and forced himself to contain the laughter he had been about to release before continuing to speak. “Accio lube and condoms.” He expressed as seriously as he could, although then he couldn’t contain himself and covered his mouth with one hand to prevent his laughter from being heard everywhere, even though he only kept tempting when Kyoutani rested his forehead on his arm, laughing too.

It wasn’t the first time that their bodies had been so close in that way, but it was the first time they had done so without planning it and therefore didn’t have what it took to be able to carry out the actions that their bodies asked them to do, so Yahaba hadn’t hesitated to take advantage of remembering that he had seen Matsukawa and Hanamaki in the common room when they had passed by, to ask them for a silent favor.

A new round of laughter abandoned their mouths when they glimpsed a little bottle as well as the package of a condom that they didn’t doubt had left Matsukawa and Hanamaki’s room, floating towards them, and at the same time that Yahaba caught them with his hand, Kyoutani took the opportunity to observe him, without being able to avoid the big and clumsy smile that appeared on his face when he saw the image that Yahaba gave him, with only his pants on, his silver locks highlighting after being illuminated by the moonlight, and the comic smile that decorated his face as he observed the objects in his hands, although once Yahaba looked up to watch him, he remained serious.

“What?” He asked, glimpsing Kyoutani’s golden irises focused on him.

Kyoutani rested his hands on his cheeks, knowing that Yahaba was simply the one for him, and for the same reason he joined his lips to his, being a warm and excited kiss that got Yahaba to leave his hands on his neck, being able to feel everything Kyoutani wanted to say.

"Not in the window, you will make me fall." Yahaba breathed on his lips.

Kyoutani chose to listen to him after sliding his hands to his waist to surround him with his arms and move him away from the window, separating from him for a moment to close it, and then getting their bodies together again, allowing his lips to show all the words that weren’t said but thought. Again they fell on Yahaba’s bed, who left the objects aside and then again wrapped Kyoutani's neck with his arms, drawing him towards him after also circling his waist with his legs.

Kyoutani remained with his knees at the sides of his legs as well as with his hands on his waist, exerting the necessary pressure so that his fingers on his skin could make Yahaba feel a chill go through his entire body, longing for Kyoutani's hands to run every centimeter of his body, every corner of his skin as many times before had happened.

"We'd better go back to where we left. Shall we?”

Although Yahaba bit his lower lip while holding a smile after he heard him and when he felt Kyoutani’s hand at the beginning of his pants, he took advantage of Kyoutani seeming to remain bewitched with that gesture on his face, to make the positions turned around, since Kyoutani rested his back on the mattress while he was the one who remained on top of him, sitting on his lap and with the palms of his hands on his chest, along with a funny smile he didn’t hesitate to hold when Kyoutani raised an eyebrow.

With time, Yahaba had learned not only to read the true intentions behind Kyoutani’s words and gestures, but also to see the true motives in his way of unfolding, so he had always known that if the day where they returned to being the same as always, happened, then the same actions would take place between the two, and the reality was that just as Kyoutani could take him from the wrists and then kiss him, he had learned to subject Kyoutani to his own orders without needing to express them in a high voice, because just as his body reacted when Kyoutani stimulated him with his hands, Kyoutani's skin made it clear that the same happened when he took the reins of the moment.

He rested his hands on Kyoutani's shoulders before leaning toward him again to make their mouths come together, but as soon as he felt Kyoutani's hands resting on his waist, he separated his lips from his to kiss him at the corner of his mouth, then on his cheek, and then on his jaw. He began to leave a path of kisses down his throat, descending to his chest to later kiss Kyoutani's abs, whose hands exerted more pressure on his waist, assuring him that he kissed the right parts of his skin.

Yahaba knew that he held over Kyoutani the same power that Kyoutani held over him, so he wasn’t surprised when once he remained his face near his pants, a lump was evident, nor was he impressed when after lowering his pants along with his underwear, an erect dick was what he found. The purple marks that now remained on his neck showed that he belonged to Kyoutani, while the gasp that Kyoutani released when he took the base with his hand, was only of his property. He had always enjoyed the body of the one who at that time had come to be under him, not only because it gave him a feeling of incessant warmth and made his own body burn, but also because his muscles were perfectly remarkable and his abs were still marked more when Yahaba decided to exercise control himself.

Yahaba licked his lips before running his tongue over the tip of his dick and not hesitating to raise his head to form direct visual contact with Kyoutani, to ensure that his golden irises were only focused on him when he remained with his tongue out and with pre cum at the tip of it, and then keep it in his mouth to swallow with heaviness on purpose, getting Kyoutani's hands that had moved towards his silver locks, only to show him that he knew how to provoke him in the indicated way after he felt his nails on his scalp. Yahaba held an amused smile before lowering his head again, and took the tip of Kyoutani's dick with his mouth, beginning to move and lower his head, getting Kyoutani to throw his head back on the pillow after feeling a surge of pleasure spread throughout his body.

Kyoutani had always known that Yahaba's mouth didn’t only serve to insult him in every possible way or to express words that sometimes hurt him, and on that occasion it was Yahaba who felt satisfied when he heard the noises that came from Kyoutani’s mouth after pleasing him with the help of his lips and hands. He felt that Kyoutani's fingers were embedded in his hair, and for the same reason he didn’t doubt to continue with one of his hands resting on one of his legs, with his tongue tracing the length of his dick, on purpose having decided to use his lips instead of his hands, since he knew that the right way to get Kyoutani to agree to give up control was to spoil him with his mouth. The lump in his throat as well as the discomfort in his chest had disappeared along with any other trace of sadness that had previously accumulated in the form of tears in his eyes, for them to be replaced by a surge of excitement when he felt that Kyoutani gently tugged at his hair to let him know that he had to lift his head, which he did on purpose, to then wipe one of the corners of his lower lip with his index finger.

"You know I like to swallow." Yahaba said, looking at him.

"I won't let you say that I was the first to have an orgasm."

Yahaba raised an eyebrow when he heard him, totally amused by the fact that Kyoutani wanted to turn that moment into a resistance competition between them, and continued to hold the same smile when Kyoutani raised his hands to his neck to draw him towards him, joining his lips to not having to continue seeing that gesture that only continued to provoke him. Momentarily he took off his hips from the mattress to finish getting rid of his pants and underwear, and took advantage of that movement to make Yahaba again lay on the bed while he was on top of him. Neither intended to allow the other to enjoy the fact that the other quickly gave into the caresses of the other after they had been so far apart, missing each other, allowing the actions of that moment to be needier, more desperate.

Kyoutani took advantage of his new position to leave them equal after getting Yahaba to barely raise his hips to take off both his pants and his underwear with just one movement. It wasn’t the first time that their bodies brushed without clothes in between or the first time they shared the feeling of lust and desire that invaded them when they were that way, nor was it the first time they allowed the slight difference in the tone of their skins to be obvious when they stayed together. Desperate to be as close as possible with each other, with their erections brushing and their hearts beating at full speed, and with their feelings extinguishing any trace of anger towards each other. Their tongues again met and Kyoutani once again placed himself on top of Yahaba to rest his left hand on his cheek and with the other begin to slide his fingers around the contour of his figure while Yahaba returned to surround his neck with his arms, as it was increasingly difficult to keep his lips glued to Kyoutani's as he lowered his fingers down his body and made his legs separate again so he could caress the inside of his thigh.

They were aware that it was a dangerous game, that only they were the main characters and that no one made the decisions more than them, that with them the moment could be desperate but too slow, a fast moment but also calm. Kyoutani rested his hands on his back thighs and then caressed his legs to make them surround his waist, causing his erections to brush again when he lay on Yahaba after resting his elbows on the sides of his body and again joining their lips, assuring him that no matter how much time he had spent, he still knew him, he still knew what he liked both inside and outside the room, because he also knew himself. They both liked to retain control as well as feel the effects of giving it up, they liked being the one to dominate but also allowing their bodies to prove that being dominated wasn’t something that caused them disgust. Kyoutani slowly lowered his hands down his torso, taking advantage that once again he had the opportunity to travel his skin with his hands, until he reached his waist, but instead of continuing to lower his hands, he again separated from him to be looked at by Yahaba, knowing that he was teasing him.

He lifted one of the corners of his mouth when he looked at him with narrowed eyes, but Yahaba's gaze changed when Kyoutani took the bottle of lube to apply it on his fingers, and again lay on him, still with Yahaba’s brownish irises on him. What they did didn’t imply a new world as well as a scene free of experience, but after all the time they had spent away from each other for the thread that had always united them, they had suffered some problems, although as soon as Yahaba joined his lips to his for a few seconds, Kyoutani didn’t need more to understand that he wasn’t the only one who had missed the closeness between the two, and that he was ready for the distance to finish disappearing.

Again they joined their lips, allowing each other to demonstrate that they still liked to taste each other, while Kyoutani began to lower his hand, and felt Yahaba's hands tighten on his neck when the cold of the lubricant on his fingers touched his inner thigh, just as he felt his nails dig into that part of his body when he finally pressed a finger into him. For Yahaba it was a mixture of pain and pleasure, since just as his body had become unaccustomed to Kyoutani's actions, his heart had never really released him, so he closed his eyes as well as formed a line with his lips when Kyoutani began to move his finger inside him, but soon his limbs lost the tension that had suddenly accompanied them, to be supplanted by the relaxation that the kiss Kyoutani left on his cheek gave him. None were completely oblivious to the other's body, so they knew how to function carefully, as a precaution not to break the boundaries between pain and pleasure, and at that time, the second prevailed over the first when after adding another finger, Yahaba allowed a groan to leave his lips.

Kyoutani felt Yahaba's hands slide to his back to dig his nails into his muscles, which allowed him to feel satisfied because he knew that meant that no matter how much time elapsed and no matter how far apart they could be from each other, he would always know how to provoke pleasure and how to make him submissive to the actions he provoked in his body. Again he kissed him, although on that occasion, on his lips so that Yahaba could remain focused on his mouths, while he kept moving his fingers inside him in the only way he knew, the way that Yahaba's lips couldn’t correspond in the best way to his kiss after not being able to remain silent.

They couldn’t stand apart because temptation beat them while despair was the second in line to reign over them, and on that occasion, Kyoutani lightly bit Yahaba's lower lip before stopping keeping his fingers inside him so he could accommodate on him, and took the small package they had left next to them to open it and put the condom on his dick, feeling that the nerves again took possession of him even if it wasn’t the first time he was in that situation, uneasy because he knew that he didn’t want to ruin things again, but at the same time calm because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to again stay away from the one who at that time he took the opportunity to observe, enjoying the sight he had missed.

Barely open, Yahaba's eyes rested with lust on his, his lips were swollen from kissing so much and after having provoked him before, his hair that was always neat, at that time had silver locks pointing everywhere, hickeys decorated his neck as well as his collarbone, his arms were stretched out towards him to indicate that he didn’t like to be separated and his desperate hands wanted to meet again on his skin, his legs were apart, his body just waiting for his.

He just had missed him. And he considered himself a fool not only because he had stayed away for so long, but also because it was he who had made them separate when they had become accustomed to being next to each other, to turn fights into caress wars, arguments in laughter, and confrontations in kissing battles. So he decided not to waste more all the time he had wasted, and settled back on top of him just as Yahaba's arms again circled his neck. He stared at him for a few seconds because he felt the fast way in which his chest rose and fell, and through his golden eyes he assured him that nothing would happen to him while he was who was with him, although he didn’t need to do so because Yahaba knew it perfectly, and he chose to kiss him because he knew how much he took care of him even though in recent months he had shown him the exact opposite.

Yahaba was the only one who knew his sweet side and how cute he could be even if his appearance and attitude showed the opposite to others, so he wasn’t surprised when Kyoutani softly got inside him, slowly, free of all hurry, getting him to release a breath of air that he hadn’t been holding, a feeling of discomfort since they hadn’t wallowed wildly as they had been used to for a long time, mixing with a sense of tranquility and pleasure that dominated the two emotions when Kyoutani began to move his hips in a leisurely and extremely calm way, which made Yahaba only want more since he had missed the sensations that the one inside him caused when they finally established all kinds of physical contact.

Yahaba avoided letting out a gasp by biting his lower lip and tilted his head when Kyoutani again rested his lips on his neck, with the only difference that at that moment the two could barely control themselves by the excitement that being extremely close together caused them. Kyoutani felt lost when Yahaba assured him that he wanted more by moving his own hips against him, taking advantage that he kept his legs around his waist, and Kyoutani didn’t doubt to satisfy him by increasing the pace of his thrusts and joining his mouth to his as well as to find his tongue with his own to also avoid raising the rest of his housemates with the sounds that it was inevitable for them to release. They covered their gasps by kissing each other and pressing their lips to each other so that the sounds of pleasure that caused them to maintain relationships weren’t heard by others. Kyoutani lost control with Yahaba moaning as he accelerated the pace of his movements and began to be more impulsive, and Yahaba had a hard time breathing after knowing that he was the only one who could get Kyoutani crazy, who had begun to penetrate allowing lose control of himself, just as he liked to feel him inside his body. The rhythm created between the two became wild, because between them, slow was always transformed into despair, and calm was turned into necessity. They could barely breathe while they kissed intensely, and they soon joined the kind of movement they were accustomed to carrying when they were together and felt each other, one that implied that they couldn't stop moaning no matter how much they tried or what they tried so deep they will kiss and their tongues will meet.

"You missed me," Yahaba said with a short breath, “Didn’t you?” He added, taking advantage of keeping his hands on Kyoutani’s back to draw him even more towards him, moving his hips himself to provoke him, managing to smile with satisfaction when a sound scraped Kyoutani's throat, who he was sure clenched his lips to prevent a moan to left his mouth when he purposely turned the penetration deeper.

But saying those words was only against him, since Kyoutani gave him a strong thrust before completely lowering his rhythm, making Yahaba cling his nails to his back muscles and on that occasion to be the one to form a line with his lips while Kyoutani smiled because he knew that he had to make a great effort to suppress a groan because the consequences of his actions were promptly expressed among his abdomens, but that didn’t prevent Yahaba from moving his hips so that Kyoutani was also quickly shaken by the same wave of pleasure within him, finally both reaching their own limits and allowing that sensation to travel their bodies that so many times before had been found under it, finishing erasing any separation that had existed between them, both physical and emotional.

Kyoutani rested his palms on Yahaba's sides and took a deep breath while inhaling and exhaling air through his mouth, while being seen by the one who also breathed deeply to try to keep the dizziness out of his body, as well as the tiredness with which his muscles counted. Their eyes met again before Kyoutani leaned down to give him a short kiss on his lips, and Yahaba let out a last breath as Kyoutani stopped being inside him. He took off the condom and took the opportunity to stretch his hand and reach his shirt and clean both his and Yahaba's body to then allow his own self to lay on his chest, feeling that Yahaba slowly began to resume his normal rhythm, lowering the level with which he rose and down like his.

Kyoutani closed his eyes momentarily when he began to feel soft caresses that began at the back of his neck and reached his scalp and then repeated the same path, and circled Yahaba's waist with one of his arms while he rested his other hand on Yahaba's when he took advantage that it was on his skin. Yahaba watched the way he kissed it, as well as the way Kyoutani admired the way the cuts in his arms were no longer pronounced. His skin was no longer interrupted and he should no longer use any type of gauze because he had spent enough time to make it seem as if nothing ever happened to him.

"Yes, I did miss you." Kyoutani said suddenly. He lifted his head from his chest and allowed his eyes to meet Yahaba's, who stared at him more closely after he had heard him say those words. “I missed you every day and every night, and if I came back, it wasn't because Kuroo talked to me, but because I wanted to see you.”

Yahaba swallowed heavily but continued to breathe normally.

"My worst mistake was losing you." Kyoutani added, looking down.

Yahaba let out a silent sigh. His body was tired after they had reconnected in that way as well as allowed their skins to meet again, and his head ached not because he had physically exceed his limits, but because emotions had come back inside from his mind after the sensations spread throughout his body had disappeared. They had held a moment of intimacy because he had allowed it although he had promised himself that he wouldn’t lose his dignity, and because anger exceeded any of his other emotions.

Kyoutani looked up again to watch him.

He had expressed that his mistake had been to lose him.

While Yahaba wondered if his had been sleeping with him, or having made it clear that he had forgiven him with the same action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*
> 
> Next chapter: Akaashi needs time.


	65. Chapter 65

Akaashi had no idea how they did it, because although when they were eleven it was understandable that the three fit in the same bed, now that they had grown up, the biggest mystery still seemed to be how they managed to fit all three in the same space, and without anyone being about to fall or spending the night uncomfortably.

Even then, Ennoshita and Kenma were still completely asleep and hugging each other, while he was on the edge of the bed next to the last of the two, on whom he rested his gaze to check that his cheeks were still pink as last night after having been constantly rubbed against the sleeves of the hoodie he was still carrying. Akaashi hand’t been pleased to see Kenma cry, much less when they had had the opportunity to enjoy winning the game, which they hadn’t even been able to take advantage of because Slytherin had stolen even the chance to celebrate their own victory, which led him to rest his eyes on Ennoshita, because even though they had won, there was no doubt that they had had to make an effort, the bruise on Ennoshita's chin being evidence of the same.

He placed his gaze among his best friends, and then finally stood to head towards the closet and look for a hoodie to wear, but he remained completely still as soon as he realized that he had been about to grab the gray sweater that Bokuto had lent him and that had basically become his. He bit his lower lip, and swallowed with difficulty before taking another of his hoodies, a blue one, and putting it on top to also stay with the shirt and pants of his pajamas after also putting on some sneakers.

"Akaashi?"

The aforementioned looked up as soon as he heard his name being pronounced, since he had thought that his two roommates were asleep, until he spotted Ennoshita with half of his body detached from the mattress while he watched him, rubbing his eyes because he probably woke up although he had tried to make as little noise as possible. Ennoshita followed him with his eyes when Akaashi turned to his bed to stay close to him.

“Where are you going?” Ennoshita asked him with a sleepy face and voice after seeing that he had put on slippers. “What time is it?” He added, and momentarily turned his head to the only window in the room to see that it was probably too early, considering that it was barely dawning.

"Keep sleeping, okay?" Akaashi expressed, and Ennoshita frowned though he continued with his gaze partially closed after being barely awake. “Yesterday we had a difficult game and you have to rest.”

"You also played. Why don't you follow your own words?”

"I'll only go for a while," Akaashi assured him.

Ennoshita rubbed his eyes again, and sat on the bed being careful not to disturb Kenma so as not to wake him. He noticed that something was happening with Akaashi because his voice sounded different and even though the three had gone to bed late, the dark circles on his face seemed to be bigger than normal; and he didn’t doubt that his behavior had to do with the game played as well as what had happened the days before it.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked, but Akaashi immediately denied.

"No, please stay with him," He replied, and they both watched Kenma. He was still sleeping peacefully with one of his arms surrounding Ennoshita’s waist, who returned his eyes to Akaashi, who in turn didn’t hesitate to continue talking when he realized that Ennoshita was about to speak again. “I'll be back in a moment.”

Ennoshita opened his mouth to try to interrupt him when he noticed that after speaking, Akaashi quickly headed for the door, but although he was worried, he knew that sometimes spending time alone was okay, so instead of following him after Akaashi closed the door, he let out a sigh before getting back together with Kenma, since if at least he couldn't help Akaashi at the moment, then he would continue to be the support of another of his roommates.

On the other side of the door, Akaashi let out a sigh as he left the room. He had barely been able to sleep during the previous night and he didn’t doubt that the dark circles on his face were evidence of the same. He felt that he had rested nothing, and that as the hours went by, the stiffness of his body had only continued to increase as well as the restlessness in his chest, and the instability in his thoughts. In addition, he had tried to move as little as possible so as not to wake up his two best friends, who, despite having granted him their company after having slept all three together, hadn’t yet managed to sleep peacefully. He was tired and not only because he hadn’t been able to sleep and therefore rest well after the game they had played and the day they had had.

He formed a line with his lips as he began to walk down the hall, being surrounded by the tranquility of the space dedicated to the house to which he belonged to. It was barely dawning so no one remained awake, and he felt a little calmer when he knew that he wouldn’t cross anyone, since he had just wanted to leave his room at that time so that no one appeared in a surprising way, and for the same reason, he wasn’t surprised when he saw that there was no one in the common room, nor in the halls of Hogwarts when he continued walking through them. He certainly found it strange considering that he was used to walking there with the rest of the students, but although there was no one present, he still breathed a sigh to try to calm himself down as he headed to the Hogwarts tower where he wanted to be.

He knew he was about to collapse because although he blinked often, his eyesight was beginning to become cloudy at the same time he couldn’t stop fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie, as well as feeling that the tightness in his chest asked him to return with his best friends to continue sleeping with them. He didn’t consider himself the strongest person at Hogwarts but also not the weakest, since although he believed he had many negative traits, he also had positive ones. As for example, being able to resist playing throughout the entire game without demonstrating his internal imbalance, since if he himself, the team captain, proved himself without his personal equilibrium, then the entire team would disintegrate.

He climbed the stairs that led to the west tower, and finally found himself in the owlery when the lack of windows allowed a wind current to make his little black curls dance, as well as when he found himself surrounded by several owls that mostly were resting considering it was early in the morning. Some turned their heads towards him when they heard him, and he rested his arms in the place where there should be a window, just as he raised his cloudy view at the exact moment that the first rays of sun decorated the landscape around him, illuminating the blue of his irises, giving them a green tint that could only be glimpsed at certain times, like that one.

That place had always been one of his favorites even since the first year he had entered Hogwarts, not only because it was away from the common rooms of the houses or the rest of the classrooms or any space in the castle, but also because owls had always been his favorite animal and several times he had been there to feed some when he had the time to do so. It was like a kind of space that he considered a refuge, and finding himself in that place finally gave him the freedom he had been looking for, to start crying.

It was true that he was baffled by the unexpected and fast way that the game had ended the day before, since in addition, although he couldn’t say that he knew Kuroo or that he was close to him, much less that he planned to jump in his defense, he was aware that he was crazy about Kenma and therefore would never be able to hurt him in that way even if Kenma had even had a panic attack for him according to what Ennoshita had told him; So the words Kenma had told them about why he had wanted to end the game quickly, and why he had stayed away from Kuroo since the year had started, didn’t make complete sense.

It was also true that they had won over Slytherin and that Ennoshita was also the one who had most demonstrated that competition could be something fun because he had several bruises on his body to prove it, since after all, although all had contributed theirs from their positions to get the victory, he was the one who had most collided with the aggressiveness of Kyoutani throughout the game. They had won, they had finally won the first victory for Ravenclaw in the quidditch tournament. And anyway, he couldn't be completely happy.

He knew that he hadn’t given all of himself again during a match.

But on that occasion, and unlike the game versus Hufflepuff, it wasn’t because Bokuto had been yelling at him during the course of the it, but because they had spoken before, and he made it clear that he no longer wanted to hear his voice, although in reality, it was the only thing he wanted to do.

He hadn’t been able to sleep not only because his head hadn’t left him, but because laying next to his roommates, had reminded him of how much he missed sleeping with strong, warm biceps that kept him secure as well as he missed resting his head on that chest that was much more comfortable than his own pillow. Most of his life he had slept without any company, and anyway he had become accustomed incredibly fast at the idea of sleeping with someone by his side that used to convey him safety and comfort.

And that was his problem. He had become accustomed too quickly to the idea of feeling comfortable and safe with Bokuto by his side, with him assuring him that he was protected from any problem, with his amber gaze in the mornings indicating that they had spent the night together again, and with his huge smile that assured him he was happy when the two were together. He had gotten so used to it, that now feeling the opposite way, was playing against him.

He covered his face with both hands while he continued to cry, wondering why he had believed that it would last forever, questioning himself how he had allowed himself to think that his gestures and actions would be enough, that the hugs he sought to give and that the kisses he initiated would be enough for Bokuto to understand, to trust him because in that way he assured him that he wanted him, that he only wanted to be with him because nobody else interested him, that his way of getting around would be understood by Bokuto, making it clear that in fact, his way of expressing himself wasn’t the correct one, and that he had done wrong to believe that Bokuto would understand him because he knew him as to know what meaning each of his actions entailed.

Again he rested his arms, watching the highest parts of the castle towers as well as the sun infiltrating between them, with tears sliding down his cheeks and his chest rising and falling with exasperation, with his heart completely betrayed, and his feelings in full bloom although he had never known very well how to express them, until suddenly he was scared because something flew by his side to end on the ground, and he turned to see that it turned out to be an owl that he knew too well. He rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie to erase a tear, and bent down to help the owl that had clearly miscalculated its landing.

"Already awake and flying at this hour, and always energetic," He said in his utterly broken voice while carefully taking the body of the great horned owl that seemed to be struggling to get up. “Just like...”Akaashi watched the owl motionlessly when he finished helping it up and it seemed completely delighted to thank him when it only shook its head before starting to walk his arm. “Your owner.” Akaashi finished, since that owl was completely familiar to him because it was Bokuto's.

He watched as the animal walked down his arm until it rested on his shoulder and stroked one of his cheeks with its head, and although Akaashi let out an exhausted sigh because what he least needed at that moment was to think even more about Bokuto, anyway he allowed the animal to continue on his shoulder when he rested his eyes on the landscape, knowing that the owl could perceive his sadness because it stayed with him instead of looking for food or staying in another part of the tower.

He knew it was his fault, he knew he should have realized that for Bokuto he could never enough, and he wondered how it was that he had given himself the chance to think that everything would be fine. He had been accumulating too much, waiting for that moment to be able to download because although he didn’t know how to express himself, that didn’t prevent him from continuing to be a person who felt, loved, and suffered.

He rested his elbow on the rail as well as his cheek against his knuckles, and continued to cry as he raised his other hand to scratch the belly of the owl that continued on his shoulder, seeming to be comfortable in that place. He had become so accustomed that even Bokuto's owl already treated him as another owner, although at that time they both turned their heads in the same way when unlike Bokuto's owl, the owl that appeared at that time, landed elegantly next to them.

Akaashi let out a sigh, and it was enough for him to stretch his fingers so that his owl placed its head under them to be able to enjoy the caress, although the animal quickly jumped when Bokuto's owl left his shoulder to remain at its side, and Akaashi held a small smile at the thought of how much they resembled each other, even though his smile soon became an expression of sadness when he realized that he was no longer sure he could assure that Bokuto was happy with him.

“What you got there?” He expressed when while Bokuto’s owl extended its wings while his moved away, that one carried a small paper of parchment in its beak, and his pet seemed to take advantage that he had spoken to him to move away of the other owl and deliver the paper to him.

Akaashi unfolded it, and although he saw a pair of green leaves fell, then he formed a line with his lips when he recognized Bokuto's letter.

_‘Congratulations for winning :) Herbs for your neck’_

He bit his lower lip as he brushed the words with his thumb, and turned his head to observe his owl, only to not find it because apparently it had already flown away. He let out a sigh, and although he held a small smile when after seeming to have seen the other owl go flying, Bokuto's owl chose to stay with him, it approached him to go under his arm and remain between him and the paper since it wanted his attention.

Akaashi put away the paper with the leaves and stroked the fur of the owl that had remained with him, with his bluish eyes again resting on the landscape, although he quickly closed them when a tear rolled down his cheeks again. He didn't find the point in having hope when it had become clear that he had been insufficient to the point of getting Bokuto to think about giving him a potion because he didn't know how to show what he felt.

Not knowing that in fact, he wasn’t the only one awake at that time, nor was he the only one to find himself outside his room, because while Bokuto's owl remained with him, his flew and marked the same path it had previously done to deliver that paper, until its legs were rested on the arm that had been stretched so that it could land.

"Thank you," Bokuto said when the animal finally met him again.

Akaashi's barred owl seemed to accept his comment after moving its wing to certainly cover its face as if it was embarrassed, although then it took a small jump to stay on his knee that he kept flexing, and finally took another leap to remain in his lap and seem to take refuge in his abdomen after laying on it.

Bokuto was seated on one of the railings of the wooden bridge, with one of his knees bent and his foot on the rail, with his other leg stretched outward, and his back resting against one of the columns. He had begun to spin on his bed and hadn’t wanted to disturb his roommates, so he had chosen to leave his room and then his common room, since he had also thought that being outdoors would distract him from the reasons why he couldn't sleep, but as soon as Akaashi's owl had appeared next to him, he knew he wouldn't stop thinking about Akaashi just because he had left his room.

He had tried to use his pillow to pretend that he could sleep, but he knew that he could never replace the boy who was perfectly suited to his body, who rested his head on his chest and allowed some strands of his black hair to tickle him on his chin, who surrounded his waist with his arms and hugged him even more as the night progressed. A pillow wouldn’t replace the feelings of calm and tranquility that sleeping together with Akaashi produced him.

Now there was plenty of space in his bed and he didn’t like that feeling of emptiness, nor did have to settle for having to see Akaashi from afar, sitting at his table in the Great Hall, walking through one of the hallways, reading in the library, or mounted on his broom in a match. He wanted to be near him, and even more, that Akaashi wanted to be close to him.

But the reality had changed.

He didn't like to sleep alone. And Akaashi no longer accepted sleeping beside him.

He had pretended that Akaashi wanted him, when in reality he wasn't enough for Akaashi. Akaashi was intelligent, the only sixth-year captain, a good person, respectful, took care of his friends, his bluish look was the most honest, and he had the most perfect face he had ever seen. While he was clumsy, immature, too loud, too expressive, and too insistent and annoying, so he understood why Akaashi had told him he didn't want him, that he didn’t love him, although that didn't take away that those words still had broken his heart, made his world collapse, that his hair lost its shape, and that the expression of sadness be installed on his face. He didn't remember what it was like to feel happy, and all he did was miss the one who apparently didn't miss him.

Akaashi had everything in his favor. He could get the person he wanted.

But he didn’t. And he also didn't want to, because even if Akaashi didn't love him, he continued to love him.

But he knew that his feelings were no longer reciprocated, so at that time he rested his head on the column at the same time that the owl accommodated in his body raised its head to observe him since it felt how his body began to tremble, since although he closed his eyes, a tear slid down his cheek anyway. He didn’t like to feel that way, but he knew Akaashi enough to know that he would probably be awake at that time because the game's actions would haunt him, and he had found himself right after the owl itself returned without the paper, knowing he shouldn’t interfere because he wasn’t the right person for Akaashi. Kenma had assure him Akaashi loved him, but he would only believe it once Akaashi proved it to him.

* * *

Yahaba silently admired himself.

He was used to observing himself in the mirror not only because he had never been one of the people who had problems with his physical appearance, but also because he had got used to it during all the times he and Oikawa were talking in front of the row of mirrors once they finished bathing or when masks were applied on their faces. He was used to seeing himself no matter what emotions he felt or what time of the year it was, but for the first time, at that moment he wasn’t able to study his own reflection.

He lowered his eyes to the purple marks spread on his neck and collarbone.

He had woken up early and opted to take a shower so that his muscles would relax and his mind would only concentrate on the noise of the drops as well as the contrast of the cold water with his body that was still hot, not only because of the activity he had performed during the night but also because he had woken up with Kyoutani holding him with his head resting on his chest. But once he changed and remained with his silvery wet locks in front of the mirror, he watched his own self steadily, without moving.

There were no dark circles under his eyes but he wasn’t smiling either.

Because he still wasn’t sure what to think about the night before.

He bit his lower lip and knew that his cheeks that he saw turned pink were due to the fact that the images of the previous night appeared inside his head. They had made it clear that the two were equally complicated although they were extremely different in terms of personalities, but while most of the time they clashed and never agreed, what united them was the need for each other as well as wishing each other in the same way. They needed each other with the same madness and their bodies asked them to connect as well as their lips to get together, and their skins to brush, making them give in and be willing to fulfill their own whims.

Yahaba had understood that no matter that Kyoutani had been the one to get away, he had also missed him as well as hated himself for having stayed apart, he had suffered the distance in the same way and longed for the day they met again, which explained why he had returned after not continuing to stand that each one was on their own, missing each other in silence.

And that part of him was the one that was grateful that they had met again in the way they were used to, being the one that had made him not get up that morning with an expression of horror as well as a feeling of regret when he just opened his eyes and felt a heaviness in his chest that was due to the body that remained on top on him. It was the same part of him that last night had allowed him to remain calm because he trusted in the way Kyoutani guided the encounter between their skins and therefore their bodies, because the trust between them had never disappeared and because reality was that many times he had also imagined how they would unfold once they saw each other again and came face to face.

But another part of him told him the opposite.

It assured him that he had done wrong to have fallen back before temptation, allowing certain of his emotions to dominate over others as well as over his brain, that the one he had slept with was the same person that had made him suffer and offered full nights of not being able to fall asleep, as well as the same that with his absence, had made the panic attacks turn into his greatest company as well as the pain in his best friend and the anguish in his lover. That part of him told him he shouldn’t have yielded to habit as well as good memories.

Yahaba knew that he hadn’t done the right thing, but not the wrong thing either.

He had wanted to think that anger was driving him because he hadn’t wanted to lose his dignity with Kyoutani, but accepting that he continued to love him, and letting him know that he forgave him after allowing their hearts to meet again once their bodies did too, wasn’t the same as retaining his dignity?

He had accepted how he felt and couldn’t afford to start thinking if the night before had been his worst mistake or a bad decision, or a good choice. He had been thinking for so long that he didn’t want to do it anymore, he just wanted to be able to think about the actions he was doing without thinking about the consequences they could bring, being the marks on his body one of those, as well as the fatigue with which his body counted even if he had rested.

Again he let out a sigh, and finally turned his eyes away from himself when he realized he wasn’t alone.

“Sleeping with the enemy?” Osamu asked, glancing at the hickeys on his skin.

He approached him to remain by his side as he looked at him with a somnolent face and an almost invisible smile that was enough for Yahaba to understand that he hadn’t expressed those words with an accusatory tone.

"I could say the same about you," He decided to answer, looking at him with a small smile.

Osamu let out a yawn before shaking his head calmly.

“I didn’t spend the night with Rintaro, I wasn’t going to accept staying in his room so that they would throw the victory in my face, and my brother would have killed me if I had left him for one of the players of the house that defeated us, as if I would have brought him to our room.”

“He can’t say anything. He sleeps with who will be our next rival, isn’t he?”

They only had to play against Hufflepuff, and although the two knew that unlike Osamu, who was with Suna since they both realized they were equally silent and preferred to continue with that while their mouths were joined, his brother Atsumu had a reputation for never having serious relationships as well as knowing the beds in the four rooms of the common rooms of the houses, although that didn’t mean that he had always kept a certain special place for one of the Quidditch players of Hufflepuff who hadn’t played after hurting his hand, Kita Shinsuke.

"He is not the enemy," Yahaba said after realizing the way Osamu had referred to Kyoutani.

"I know, I didn’t say it for me, but for you," The twin known for being calmer expressed, making the other realize he had called him that way because although they had spent the night together, Kyoutani could still be considered his enemy for all the jumble of emotions that he had caused him. “Although I see that he is no longer the enemy," Osamu added, lowering his somnolent gaze to the marks on his skin.

“Is that wrong?” He asked, expecting him to give him the answers he couldn’t find.

Osamu shrugged.

"I'm not the one to answer when I do really sleep with the enemy," He said, holding a small smile on his side, amused by the thought, "Just don’t let him hurt you, okay?” Osamu stretched out his arm to make a short, small caress on his chin, and Yahaba nodded.

He gave him a small smile and yawned before turning around.

“Futakuchi slept with you?” Yahaba asked suddenly.

Osamu shook his head.

"Maybe he went with Terushima," He answered before entering one of the bathrooms.

Yahaba sighed and hoped he was right, since he knew that for the only reason he was currently debating with himself, was because Futakuchi had never returned to the room to prevent something from happening, in turn making Yahaba wonder if he considered himself lucky because his best friend hadn’t interrupted the moment, or unfortunate because his presence could have changed the course of the night. He hadn’t heard from him since the match was over and he hoped that he was with Terushima to take advantage of being away from everyone in his house, and therefore of all the accusatory stares and comments charged with negativity.

He shook his head before realizing that he also had a lot to resolve regarding his best friend, and finally stopped finding himself in the bathroom to return to his room, in which once he entered, he fixed his eyes on the only bed of three that remained occupied. His.

Yahaba took advantage of Kyoutani still sleeping to sit on the edge of his bed and stare at him without bothering as he used to do every time he realized that he was watching him, realizing he remembered what it was that put him in a bad mood or he managed to get a small smile on his face no matter how much time had passed, although he also remained serious when he realized that Kyoutani had also generated consequences for himself after the previous day having sought constant fight with Ennoshita during the match, since he could see two bruises on his right arm and one near his hip that he hadn’t been able to see the previous night due to the lack of light that had accompanied them.

And even though he still didn’t know if he was sorry for the actions of the previous night or not, that part that fought because he left the last months in the past so that he could focus on the present and the new feelings that that entailed, won a first round when Yahaba held a smile on his face because that look that wasn’t only hostile to him during the mornings, rested in no one else but him at that moment.

Kyoutani rubbed his eyes and then sat down, and Yahaba stopped looking at him when he slid his eyes to his hands because the other had joined them in his lap. Yahaba was smiling but that didn’t prevent him from thinking that although he still didn’t agree with all the parts that composed him, and that continually fought each other, there was something he was sure of.

“Promise me that you will never get away from me again.” He expressed.

A feeling of regretfulness didn’t invade him as well as one of complete happiness either. He knew that he should learn to live with all the emotions that were inside him and that sometimes would fight each other as well as others would remain in harmony, but he also knew that he never wanted to feel like the way he had done during the summer, terrified of his own thoughts, that panic attacks appearing to make him feel more afraid, and his habit of observing himself in the mirror being replaced by a wave of insecurity.

At that moment he returned to observe Kyoutani when he felt that the union of his hands became stronger.

"I promise." He assured him, staring at him. “I’m sorry that I lost you.”

Yahaba gave him a small smile, finally listening to what he had wanted to hear.

"It's okay." He said, deciding with which part of him he would become an ally. “You already have me back.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The consequences of the outcome of the match continues to spread.


	66. Chapter 66

Futakuchi continued to look at the horizon with a frown while keeping his arms around his knees. He wasn’t satisfied as he thought he would feel after doing what he had done during the game the day before.

Why wasn’t he happy?

He had seen Kenma's reaction. He should be satisfied.

Then why he wasn’t?

Because internally he knew that Kenma hadn’t deserved it.

He was a bad person with bad intentions and believed that he deserved the circles under his eyes as well as the next looks he would receive, as the next comments he would hear about himself. He wouldn’t even complain if he was thrown out of the team since he understood if that they wanted to do so.

He had unleash against Kenma because he knew that he was the one in whom Kuroo maintained his attention and interest, and if his feelings weren’t reciprocated, no one else's would be, or at least that’s what he had thought while assuring it to the other team's seeker, but once the game was over, and he saw the way Kuroo rested his eyes on Kenma after being extremely worried for him, he realized that no matter how much he tried to separate them, sooner or later those two would end up meeting again as they always did. They had always been destined to be together, whereas he had only played a secondary role for which he had never been called. His anger had led him to say harsh words to someone he knew he didn’t deserve it, and his frustration had dominated over the rest of his feelings in doing so. He knew that what he had done was wrong, and he had reconsidered the matter all night, since he hadn’t managed to sleep and hadn’t even passed through his room. Being alone with his thoughts had made it possible for him to feel that he couldn’t sleep as much as he wanted, so he had decided to have the possibility to continue observing with his own eyes the dawn that had risen in front of him an hour ago, knowing that a new day wouldn’t erase the decisions he had made earlier.

Finally he leaned his back against the tree behind him. He had played a game the previous day and hadn’t yet sleep, his muscles were imploring him to conciliate sleep and to rest, while his head kept him awake because he kept repeating that he was a bad person who took bad actions and made mistakes that only ruined the lives of others and his own.

A happy ending wasn’t always possible, and he knew it more than anyone else.

Not always everything went as one wanted. Sometimes, life didn’t respond in the way one wanted it to. Sometimes, imagining it night after night wasn’t enough. Wanting it with every piece of one’s body wasn’t enough to get the results one wanted. But what Futakuchi hadn’t taken into account, was that there was always a chance that life would surprise him in the least expected way at the least expected time. And that an end, could imply a new beginning.

"Hey," He heard suddenly.

It was inevitable for him to be scared after being without company more hours than he wanted to tell. He put a hand on his chest, and remained surprised when he spotted Terushima standing near him, who gave a giggle, seeming to be entertained by his reaction. He wasn’t surprised because it was early, since he knew that his best friend always got up early, as soon as the sun made its first appearance, but because he hadn’t expect him to find him.

“What are you doing here?” Futakuchi asked him.

He stopped focusing on him and rested his eyes on the landscape in front of him. But again he was distracted when Terushima sat beside him instead of disappearing after his question.

“I was waiting for you to appear in my room sometime during the night, because you come to sleep with me when you don't want to be in Slytherin. But you didn't, and I just got up and I didn't see you so I decided to look for you.” Terushima answered along with a sideways smile.

Futakuchi raised an eyebrow. "Why? You know that if I don't show up, it's because I want to be alone.”

Terushima simply let out a little chuckle.

"I understand that you don't want to be in Slytherin, but you know that your lies doesn't work with me, right?"

Futakuchi simply threw him a serious look, and then crossed his arms knowing that Terushima was right. He considered Yahaba to be his best friend besides his roommate, but if there was someone he trusted once he was outside the Slytherin common room, it was Terushima, with whom since he had met him in one of the detentions they had shared, they had become inseparable.

"I don't want to talk." Futakuchi expressed.

He knew that many people didn’t see Terushima as someone serious because his personality was unique and his appearance only shouted madness, but if there was someone who knew that the Hufflepuff could also have a serious side when it came to listening, it was him.

"I know. I just want to keep you company .” Terushima assured him.

"Why?"

"Because y—"

“No, why would you want to do that?” Futakuchi interrupted him. “Why would you want to be with me?”

Terushima watched him while Futakuchi looked down, and recognized the true intentions behind that question as soon as he heard it. The real question was why he would want to spend time with someone like him, with someone with his personality and attitude towards others. Terushima didn't know what he had done during the game, but he was still aware that not many people chose to approach Futakuchi both inside and outside the quidditch field.

“Hey,” Futakuchi looked at him when Terushima gave him a slight push with his shoulder, “You are my best friend. Okay?"

Their eyes met for a few seconds until Futakuchi chose to once again leave his sight on the landscape in front of them. He wasn’t proud nor satisfied with what he had done during the match, and he knew that the consequences of his actions were probably already manifesting, so he had chosen to stay away from Slytherin, and even from Hufflepuff. But reality was that he was tired, and he didn’t know if of himself, of his bad luck when it came to his feelings, or of his way of facing things, so at that time, he simply chose to rest his head on Terushima's shoulder, still with his eyes open, still upset with the outcome of the game. 

* * *

Kuroo thought about the irony of his situation, since although he thought of that place as the most reassuring one of his common room, he still chose to lower his head and focus his eyes on the cup between his hands, so as not to allow himself to cross with his reflection in the glass wall that indicated the separation between where he was, and part of the Black Lake. He had found himself there after the lost game against Gryffindor, and now again after the game against Ravenclaw, although not necessarily because of the result, even if it continued to bring down his self-esteem.

The tea in his cup was still going full, as was the discomfort on his chest.

He was totally serious, and for the only reason he didn't lift his face to look at the glass wall, was because he didn't want to confirm that despite his seriousness, his facial features only indicated concern, guilt, and anguish. He sat against the wall behind him, cross-legged and with a cup between them, holding it with both hands. He was still tired of yesterday's game, still carrying the tiredness of the night before it too, and his muscles were reproaching him for not having slept well because they kept asking him to go back to bed to sleep, but he had stopped listening to the complaints of his own body when it was his head that took all his attention. He felt completely awake but tired at the same time, and he knew it would be a matter of time before the battle inside him ended.

He inhaled and exhaled air through his mouth, trying to calm down and unable to achieve it, until he suddenly blinked several times in a row when a pink ball appeared in his field of vision, and sighted how it went straight to his cup to stay in it and appear to use the tea inside it as if it were a personal sauna, and although he wasn’t happy at all, he couldn’t help smiling.

"Dumb ball." He wasn’t surprised to hear Oikawa's voice, because if the micropuff appeared, it was because then he was close. “Sorry, he was cold,” He said, emphasizing the last words as if he wanted to scold his pet for having ruined Kuroo's tea, and which seemed to growl at his own owner after perceiving that he was scolding it. He also heard that Oikawa sighed in resignation, and Kuroo didn’t need to look from his cup to notice that he sat next to him. “I went to your room and Suga-chan told me you were here, he was getting up to do the prefect round.”

Despite previously having been distracted by the image of the micropuff using his cup as a pool of its own, Kuroo continued equally seriously and without reacting to Oikawa's words, since although being alone wasn’t one of his greatest pleasures, he knew that in case he changed something about his condition, it would probably cause the tightness in his chest, the discomfort in his stomach, and the tension in his face, to become something worse, so he simply pursed his lips after hearing Oikawa's words, who at that moment gave him a sidelong glance before slowly resting his head on his shoulder, after also approaching his legs to his chest to surround them with his arms, and although Kuroo rested his head on his, he continued equally tense and even feeling that his condition was already getting worse.

"I think it was a good game," Oikawa told him, “I mean, we lost but, I think we made a lot of progress with respect to the previous game. We did what we could, and I think we have already been at our lowest point, so now we only have to climb up.” He continued, but the day before they had already made it clear that they trusted each other as captain and vice-captain of the team, so at that time, Oikawa had appeared to be his best friend. He allowed a few seconds to pass, waiting for Kuroo to choose to let go, but as soon as the other didn’t speak, he continued doing so. “You're still thinking about how the game ended, right?" Oikawa asked him not because he thought he was thinking about the little talk they had had as a team at the end of the game, and Kuroo knew the same thing, so he only moved his hand, indicating that his mood was due to the end of it but for another reason too. “About him, don’t you?”

Oikawa hadn’t doubted that Kuroo had chosen to find himself alone, not because the result of the game had bothered him since they had lost against Ravenclaw and therefore added another defeat to the list, the victory and the option to raise the cup looking increasingly distant. But because the game was over when after catching the snitch, everyone had spotted Kenma leaving the field with tears in his eyes. And Oikawa was right when he raised his head after Kuroo did it to keep looking at his cup while he looked at him, glimpsing the way his gaze clouded and his lower lip trembled.

"I really thought I had it, Oiks," Kuroo said, knowing that he had found himself right in thinking that it had been a matter of time before all his frustrations finally became apparent, because both his broken and forced voice, and his cloudy view were proof of the same. “I really thought I had it,” He repeated, and pursed his lips before swallowing so he could keep talking. “I know it’s always painful when someone's feelings are not reciprocated, but... that the same person who rejects you is your best friend, is worse. Because it only hurts. And hurts. And hurts.”

The micropuff had stopped playing in the contents of the cup to remain totally still, with its small eyes on the one who was holding the cup, as well as its owner, who had just approached Kuroo because at no time had he doubted that he would feel that way after the game had ended.

"I don't know what happened, but you had nothing to do with it," Oikawa expressed as soon as he heard his words. “You were only focused on the game,” He added, but Kuroo shook his head.

"I confessed to him what I feel during the winter break, and made everything worse," He said, frowning. “And I thought nothing could get worse, but...” He opened his mouth to keep talking but the image of Kenma telling him that they no longer knew each other appeared on his mind. “But...” His voice finally betrayed him, and he set the cup aside while bringing his knees to his chest, and covered his face with both hands to begin to cry. He then wrapped his legs with his arms and hid his head between them, feeling Oikawa's hand in one of his arms. His body began to shake and he was no longer able to contain all the frustrations he was tired of holding. His chest ached and his throat hurt because every word involved an effort as it had happened during the Christmas night. “I just miss him, you know, I just miss him so much.” He managed to say.

It was true that he would have preferred to win instead of losing, and although he had expressed that he felt that as a captain he had made the right decisions, he still doubted himself. But the quidditch tournament was left in some corner of his mind when all he could think about was how much he missed spending his time with Kenma as he had once been used to do. He missed the fact that Kenma rolled his eyes or let out a sigh when he managed to make him tired of following him everywhere, because he knew Kenma listened to him while he talked outside of whatever it was. He missed joking with him and when sometimes the two of them combined their sarcastic comments to address someone in particular. And he could only think of how he would have liked to be able to dedicate funny comments to him as well as to be able to receive Kenma's only because their houses had faced each other, followed by Kenma probably not having hesitated to pass in front of him to distract him, just as he throwing some bludger just to return the action.

But it hadn’t happened.

And while Kenma had left the quidditch field with tears in his eyes, he had no longer been able to contain them at that moment.

"When people look at us, they think he is the one who needs me, but it’s not like that," He said, keeping his head hidden between his knees to use them as a fixed point while he failed to rub his eyes, as tears continued abandoning them. “Three years before coming to Hogwarts, I moved. And he was my first friend, and he made my life something so much easier,” He continued commenting to Oikawa, who watched him as he listened carefully, while his pet had stopped being in the cup to leave it and float near Kuroo. “I don't know, his presence has always been like a pain reliever to me, it's like he can lower my levels when I'm too energetic, and I need him, I do need him, and I feel like I can't anymore...” He rested his arms on his knees as well as a part of his face in them, feeling as tears continued rolling down his cheeks. “He told me he thinks we don't know each other anymore, and although it hurts to accept it, I think he's right.” He said, continuing to shrink in himself.

It hurt. During all those months, Kenma had done nothing but ignore him and sometimes stay by his side because he didn't seem to lose the habit altogether. He was the one who had become the avoided one, from whom Kenma ran away because he didn’t want to be with him, because he didn’t want to talk to him nor see him. It hurt because Kenma got away from him. It had hurt him that Kenma said he thought they didn’t know each other as they had thought, but what had hurt him the most was to think that he wasn’t so wrong with his words.

"Why would you agree with something like that?" Oikawa asked.

"Because I thought we understood each other, that we knew how to read each other, but... I think it's really not like that anymore."

Oikawa continued to watch him, and chose to change position after sitting, looking at him while he lowered his hand to the side of his body to make him a caress to try to comfort him.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, and I can stay and talk, or be silent, or leave if that's what you want," He began to tell him, “But for what you are telling me, this is not only because of the game, or the words you crossed before, or what you have confessed to him at Christmas. All this goes back to whatever it is that made you two distance yourself from each other, and if you want my help, I can't help you unless you tell me what happened.”

Kuroo stopped resting his arms and face on his knees when he chose to straighten himself up again, and the micropuff took advantage of the movement to float to him, and take its place in the palms of his hands when Kuroo opened them so it could sit there. He swallowed, and after holding a small smile when the micropuff seemed to enjoy the fact that he stroked its head with his fingers, he let out a sigh.

Although everyone around him had noticed the way he and Kenma had distanced themselves, he had never told the reason aloud. Not even Bokuto, whom he already considered his brother, or Oikawa, who at that moment he was finally willing to tell since he was no longer able to continue without expressing why his relationship with Kenma had changed from one moment to the next, overnight, from one year to the next.

“A kiss.”

“What?”

"A kiss." Kuroo repeated more clearly. “We kissed.” He said, “And after that, everything went to hell.” He explained without being able to believe that he was saying those words, not because he was pronouncing them, but because it made no sense to him that everything would have ended that way after a simple action that didn't seem to have a single bit of simplicity. “I kissed him because I thought I knew him, that's why I agree when he says we don't know each other anymore. I kissed him because I thought he loves me as much as I love him, that he sees me the same way I see him.” He remembered how he had been totally excited at the time when the idea of starting to establish another type of relationship with Kenma had appeared in his head. A relationship in which they wouldn’t stop being best friends, but be something much more than that. “But I kissed him, and then he started to avoid me,” He remembered how the happiness that joining his lips to Kenma's had given him, had quickly been replaced with frustration after glimpsing the way he behaved the next day. “I got confused? Did I misunderstand his gestures and his words? Did I never really know him? Maybe a kiss wasn’t what he wanted, and by mistake, I managed to get him completely away from me. I overpassed the limits, and with Kenma I can't do that. So I understand that he doesn’t want to see me, that he avoids me, that...” He pursed his lips, his chest feeling the pain that Kenma’s words had caused him. “He says we don't know each other. And I’m a fool. I should have left things as they were, I shouldn't have surpassed myself, but... at the same time I don't regret it. I trusted myself, I trusted all the years we spent together, side by side, just... I just don't understand. I had never been wrong with him before. And now he doesn't even give me the opportunity to explain it to him. That's why I confessed what I felt at Christmas. But of course, I'm an idiot, so I just kept making things worse.” He expressed exasperated with himself, both angry and frustrated, since he didn't decide if his decisions were the correct ones or not.

He rested the micropuff on his knees as well as his head against the wall to rub his face with both hands, completely frustrated because he already believed that none of his ways of acting was fine, since no matter what he said or did, or what decision he made, the result was always the same. Both he and Kenma ended up hurt.

Oikawa watched him completely impressed although he didn't show it on his face.

That was the first time Kuroo really explained to him why his relationship with Kenma had changed, which had given him the opportunity that for several months, in his own head he created several hypotheses about what had happened so that the Ravenclaw would get away from him completely, and Kuroo had to be the one to look for him. He had thought that perhaps somehow it had been some drama in their families because he knew that just like Iwaizumi's and his were friends, theirs as well. He had thought that in reality the relationship between Kuroo and Kenma had changed long ago without telling anyone, and they had both decided to put an end to it for some reason. He had thought that maybe they had had a fight. But what he had least thought, was that Kuroo was that way, and that Kenma avoided him, for nothing more than a kiss. But he better than anyone, after his own misunderstandings with Iwaizumi that had been created from a kiss, knew how much a gesture as simple but emotional as that could mean.

"I don't think you made a mistake," Was the first thing he said after he heard him, and Kuroo watched him as soon as he heard him. “Apart from Iwa-chan, you're not the only person who can read me, and you know why? Kenma does too.” Oikawa continued, and Kuroo was surprised by both his words and the fact that he called the Ravenclaw by his name and not by some kind of nickname. “I remember when you introduced him to me, and I swear, I felt that he knew me completely from one second to the next. All of me, the good and bad. With just looking at me. He can see through people as much as you and I do,” He rested his hand on Kuroo’s arm and then on his own chest. “So I don't think you were wrong. I don't think you misunderstood the situation. But that in fact, he is... who did it.”

“What do you mean?” Kuroo asked rubbing his eyes.

"You are an open book to each other," Oikawa replied. “Kenma would have known if you were lying or playing with him when you kissed him, and you didn't do that, so there's something else you're not seeing, a detail that even I can't find.”

Kuroo let out a sigh as soon as he heard him, and took his head off the wall at the same time he looked down at his own body. He believed that Oikawa was right when he mentioned that although both Kenma and him were made up of several facets, when the two were together, it was impossible to hide something from each other. But in turn he no longer understood the situation, and trying to do so only frustrated him, which explained why he had cried and why he continued with his disappointed look.

"He doesn't love me, nor does he accept to talk to me for at least five minutes." He expressed, since although there were details or not that neither he nor Oikawa could find, reality was that Kenma was no longer even willing to cross paths with him.

"He heard you at Christmas," Oikawa said, and Kuroo turned his head towards him. “He listened to you.” He repeated along with a small smile, “Hold on to that.”

"What am I supposed to do?"

“You played in the game and I didn’t, but that doesn't change the fact that we both know that just as you have me and I have you, he has best friends who can also help him and want to see him well, and that we know they have big brains. I don't doubt they will talk with him, so all you can do is wait, wait for Kenma to come back to you. I know, it's hard, but for this time, stop looking for him and let him come to you.”

"What if that never happens?" Kuroo asked.

If he stopped looking for Kenma, then would everything end definitively?

"I was patient waiting for Iwa-chan to confess what he feels, you can be patient with this," Oikawa told him, and Kuroo held a small smile on his face when he heard him. “We are Slytherins, don’t forget that if it doesn’t work in one way, then we will look for another one, and another, and another, until we achieve what we want. You looked for him, and it didn't work. Wait until he looks for you. If he finds you, that's it. If he doesn't, then we'll look for another solution, but don't give up.”

After he finished speaking, Oikawa increased the size of his smile when Kuroo continued smiling instead of once again holding an expression of sadness or seriousness on his face.

"We really have it bad for our childhood best friends, don't you think?"

The brunet couldn't help laughing. "I don't know how people expected me to like someone else when Iwa-chan is right in front of me with those muscles." He expressed, and Kuroo joined to his laughter.

The black-haired one laughed, being happy that Oikawa and Iwaizumi had stopped being only best friends because from personal experience he knew how much it hurt when the most important person acted in a contrary way. And he smiled, hoping that Oikawa would certainly be right since he only wanted him and Kenma to be best friends as always, and if they could, something even more than that.

"Thank you, Tooru." He said, and knew that he had done the right thing when suddenly Oikawa opened his eyes like two large plates and then raised both arms as if he were celebrating.

"Did you hear him?!" He suddenly exclaimed, approaching his face completely to his micropuff, who seemed to shout in the same way that he to then float in between them at the same time that Oikawa pounced on Kuroo to hug him, making him laugh, already becoming clear to him that if there was someone he could definitely trust because he was the one who would understand him the most, was the brunet who at that time gave him his best and most honest smile. “You're welcome Tetsu-chan, you know I'm for whatever you want.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes, but still hugged Oikawa.

The tea had already cooled, his muscles had relaxed, and the tears had stopped rolling down his cheeks. As Oikawa had stated, all he could do from that moment on, was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Akaashi finally gives one of his best friends a chance to talk.


	67. Chapter 67

Ennoshita didn’t expect to be congratulated by everyone in his house once the week began, as well as much less than students from other houses did. Apparently he had become the hero of the game only because he was the one who had been hitten the most on his face and body, but he didn't think it was because the other people who made up the team hasn't also tried, as they had only managed to win thanks to Akaashi's strategies that the others had followed without distrust, as well as thanks to Kenma, who had managed to change the result of the game after getting Ravenclaw to win and have definitive advantage after catching the snitch too fast. He only considered that he had done his job as one of the team's titular players and as vice-captain of the team, although he didn’t deny that he had had fun confronting Kyoutani even though his punches proved otherwise.

But the important thing was that afternoon Ravenclaw would have the first practices after winning the first game of two played, and Ennoshita was extremely excited as he went to the field of quidditch, because although he always liked to train with his teammates, it wasn’t a surprise that at that time he was happier since it was better to see the smiles on everyone's faces than to grimace in frustration as they had after losing to Hufflepuff.

He was only inches away from the field when he heard someone calling his name, and he turned to see Tanaka running towards him. He bit his lower lip, trying to keep a huge smile from appearing on his face, and he hoped that his cheeks weren’t completely red even if he had begun to feel a warm feeling in that part of his face. The Gryffindor asked him to give him a few seconds while he recovered the lost air and Ennoshita laughed when he saw him. He was nervous. He couldn’t help it.

The last time they had confessed that they liked each other, and the Ravenclaw didn’t know how to act because he hadn’t thought that was possible. Maybe during the game Kyoutani had hit him enough to get him into a coma and therefore everything was a dream he didn’t want to wake up from.

Tanaka finally got up.

"The other day I forgot to congratulate you properly for winning," He stated.

“What are you talking about?” He asked him confused.

“This.”

Ennoshita remained extremely stiff when Tanaka rested his hands on his cheeks, carefully as he had a cut on his chin, a scrape on his right cheek, and another cut near his right eye, and he joined his lips to his, making all the previous received congratulations be nothing in comparison. He dropped the broom he had been carrying with him and allowed his stiffness due to surprise to be replaced by a sense of tranquility, so he wrapped his arms around his neck and corresponded to that gesture he had been waiting for more time he could imagine. All the muscles of body relaxed, and he allowed his lips to match Tanaka's with perfect synchrony.

But suddenly the Gryffindor separated from him and gave him a kiss on the cheek that didn’t have a bruise before finally turning away from him while holding a big and entertaining smile on his face.

"I doubt your captain will accept you being late," Tanaka expressed, getting down to take the broom Ennoshita had dropped on the lawn that was once again beginning to grow, and threw it at him. "Besides, you're the vice-captain. You should be responsible.”

Ennoshita watched him openmouthed as he narrowed his eyes and took his broom.

“That is not fair! You can’t, you can’t just come, do that and then go!” He exclaimed, forming an annoyed pout with his lips.

"Of course I can, and I already did!" Tanaka winked.

And he again held an animated smile before turning around and returning to where he had appeared while Ennoshita remained stupefied, until a smile appeared on his face after realizing that with Tanaka he didn’t need to know how to act.

"Damn you," He murmured to himself, though still smiling.

He turned around to finally enter the Quidditch pitch, and for the second time he was surprised when he felt all his teammates pounce on him, everyone seeming to be amused when they heard Ennoshita complain after receiving the weight of all the bodies on him. All except Tsukishima, who watched them without any expression on his face. Even their roommates momentarily seemed to have forgotten the sadness they were carrying after remembering that they had won a game, and therefore, their strategies had been the appropiate ones for the team they were still creating.

Akaashi gave them some words of thanks before the practice began, and although it wasn’t a surprise that they were the least demonstrative team because all the players who composed it turned out to be better thinkers instead of good talkers, Ennoshita glimpsed the happiness of having gained in the development of those practices, and would have been carried away by that feeling if he hadn’t known that during the entire training, his roommates only pretended to be well. Kenma needed to be content, and although Akaashi pretended not to let Kenma be the one to get the most attention, he did. Ennoshita didn’t forget that he had gotten up because Akaashi again had decided to leave the room, showing him that actually, Kenma wasn’t the only one in need of attention and confort.

Ennoshita hadn’t needed his roommate to tell him why he had left, since he didn’t doubt that his expression of sadness had to do with a certain Hufflepuff with whom the situation seemed to still be complicated. But Ennoshita had decided that he couldn’t help him if he just continued to let Akaashi distance his own self from them instead of having a conversation with him. And at that moment he decided to take the opportunity of remaining alone with him once the training was over and the other players withdrew, Kenma being the first to leave; not being surprised once he noticed that his present roommate returned to hold his usual expression when the two of them were alone.

He didn't even want to know with everything that Akaashi was suffering, what he was holding within himself, because although he hadn’t neglected his role as captain during the game, nor in the practice they had just coordinated, Akaashi continued acting differently.

“Akaashi,” Ennoshita remained seated on the lawn while he saw his back, since the other was keeping the corresponding materials in the box, and the same one only hummed in response. He knew that perhaps he was about to get into dangerous territory, but if he had played against Kyoutani and won, and even understood that Tanaka corresponded to his feelings, he felt able to even face what Akaashi didn’t want. He had previously told Kenma that he would be Akaashi's support, and he didn't plan it to be only on the field when they played a quidditch game. “Did you talk with Bokuto?” He asked him.

He noticed how Akaashi’s body suddenly stiffed.

Akaashi looked at the quaffle in his hands and bit the inside of his lower lip. He had been moving away from his best friends precisely for that reason, because he knew that by keeping his distance, those wouldn’t be able to ask questions he didn’t want to answer, or to say words he didn’t want to hear. He had chosen to stay as far away as possible because he knew that as soon as he allowed someone to comfort him, then he would completely lower the few defenses he had left. But reality was that he didn't like feeling that way either, feeling that at any moment he would explode because he was holding too much, because he felt too much, and because many were the emotions he carried.

He immediately formed a line with his lips as soon as he thought about answering Ennoshita, and knew that he no longer had an escape.

"Yes." He replied almost in a whisper.

He put the ball in the box, and then sat on his side towards Ennoshita, hugging his knees and using the grass as a fixed point at the same time that his best friend noticed how dull his eyes were once again. Ennoshita took his movement as a good sign, since if Akaashi really didn’t want to talk to him, he would have simply answered something and then left assuring him that he had to leave the box of materials.

“And what happened?”

Ennoshita understood that then Akaashi and Bokuto had spoken, and that apparently, either of them, or both, had said the necessary words for Bokuto to stop looking for Akaashi, and for Akaashi to appear to be all around him as well as against himself. Akaashi remained silent for several minutes, making his best friend believe that he wouldn’t even answer his question and that it had been a bad decision to talk to him, until he finally spoke.

“I told him I don’t love him."

Ennoshita avoided opening his eyes even more as soon as he heard his answer, since although he hadn't expected to hear him mention happy words, he hadn't expected to hear him say those words.

“Why did you lie to him?” He didn't hesitate to ask him, since he knew it was a lie.

“Because I'm not enough.”

Ennoshita frowned, and knew the answer to his question before he formulated it.

“And who put that idea in your head?”

“Myself.”

His own thoughts made Akaashi feel extremely inferior.

He wasn’t the best at expressing himself or at the time of showing his feelings.

Why would someone stay with him?

Why would Bokuto choose him?

“Bokuto-san needs someone to tell him they love him all the time. He needs someone to show him everything they feel for him and to be able to love him in all possible ways. And I—” Akaashi remained with his mouth open, knowing the exact reason why it had hurt him that Bokuto hadn’t trusted him. “I do. I love him in all possible ways.” He expressed out loud, still being watched by Ennoshita, “But I can’t be the person he wants me to be."

“I think you're a fool.”

Akaashi looked at him out of the corner of his eye as soon as he heard him. Ennoshita couldn’t stop him from crying if he wanted to, nor could he keep Akaashi’s voice from breaking, but he could keep him from thinking in the way that all it did was belittle himself.

“Bokuto doesn’t need someone like him. Demonstrative, noisy, extroverted. He needs someone to be his balance, his equilibrium in terms of personalities. He needs someone to cling to, and you do everything to not realize that that person is only you.”

Ennoshita didn’t understand how being so intelligent, Akaashi chose to turn his face away to avoid seeing the obvious. Even he himself had begun to miss the way Bokuto always left up the spirits of everyone with his crazy attitude or with just his presence, which made him drop all his juice by spitting it when he mentioned the name of the one sitting next to him in a completely excited way. Everyone had realized that something was wrong with Bokuto, and that something, rather someone, turned out to be his best friend.

“You are the only one who could be with him for twenty-four hours and not want to kill him by the end of the day. I don’t even think Kuroo is able to deal with him that much. You are the only one who tells him how reality is without making his head stop being in the clouds.”

His best friend could be completely stubborn when he wanted to. And the fact that he had told Bokuto that he didn’t love him when he did the opposite, was evidence that even though he was extremely smart, when it came to thinking about himself, all logical reasoning was left aside, and he was aware of that because the same thing happened with himself, and they both knew it.

Akaashi had been present with him to assure him that Tanaka felt the same for him.

And now it was time for him to return the favor.

“He needs you. And you need him." He saw that Akaashi hugged his knees more tightly and hid his head between them. But he needed to hear nothing more, nothing less than the truth. “You need each other because you are different, because you complement each other. If Bokuto needed someone like him, he would embrace a mirror instead of being incredibly depressed because you rejected him." He continued, struggling to keep on going because although Akaashi continued to shrink, it was his duty as his best friend to make him understand the situation. “Do you remember the time you told me you had a list of Bokuto’s weaknesses? You have always told me a couple but you have never told me the first one, the one that tops the list, the first thing that represents Bokuto on his weakest point. And you know why? Do you know why you can't say his first weakness? Because you are. You are his first weakness, your name tops that list.”

He finished, and didn’t hesitate to approach his best friend to surround him with his arms when he heard that Akaashi began to cry. Each tear that slid down Akaashi's cheeks, represented the release of frustration and sadness with which his body counted and had been charging several days ago, after Kenma being the one to remain at the center of contention. He had already cried when he had been at the owlery, but he couldn’t even contain himself anymore, since not being as expressive as the others didn’t imply that he didn’t have feelings that could be hurt, or a heart that could be altered, and Ennoshita wiped a stubborn tear off with his thumb when Akaashi lifted his head, because he knew that he had done the right thing in uttering all those words so that his best friend would finally feel free to be able to download himself, to release everything he felt and no longer needed to contain within him. He didn’t like to see Akaashi cry, considering that he hadn’t done so since when in their second year Ennoshita had assured him that it was fine if he didn’t get the best test score. And while he didn’t want Akaashi to cry, at the same time he knew that what Akaashi needed in order to begin to heal, was to release all his frustrations in the form of tears.

“Then why did he try to give me Veritaserum?” Akaashi expressed with a broken voice.

“Because he also makes mistakes. Because we can all make mistakes.”

Ennoshita had been the first to get angry with Bokuto about the potion issue, not only because he had been the one to end up drinking it, but because he had been present to realize how much that action had affected, and continued to affect his best friend. But just as Bokuto was completely happy and his smile was noticeable miles away when he was cheerful, it was also extremely remarkable when he didn’t smile and seemed to have no desire to be the same as always. And Ennoshita had understood that the seventh-year was completely sorry for what he had done.

“Bokuto already chose you once. And I don’t doubt that he would do it one, and another, and again.”

Akaashi slowly removed Ennoshita's hands of him, only to re-embrace his legs with his arms and lick his lips as some tears continued to slide down his cheeks, and he looked down for a few seconds before settling his gaze on the hoops on the other side of the field.

"I just..." He bit his lower lip as he realized how shattered he was after hearing his own broken voice, but forcing himself to continue because he had finally chosen to stop staying away in order to take advantage of the fact that his best friend knew him, and therefore didn’t hesitate to listen to him when he was finally no longer able to contain everything within himself. “I'm just tired.”

“Tired of what?”

“Why does everyone always expect me to smile, to cry, or I don’t know, to say many words that express my state of mind?” Akaashi inquired, and his dismal blue gaze rested on him. “Why does it always have to be like that? Why my gestures never suffice? Why are my actions never enough?” He asked, and wiped one of his eyes with one of his hands. “I always try to ignore what others say, but it gets difficult when every place I go, I hear someone talking about me," He began, and Ennoshita watched him worriedly, though he frowned slightly when he heard him. “It's always the same. When I walk down the hall, all I hear is, 'He's so pretty, but can you imagine if he smiled?' 'Why does he never smile?’ ‘Have you ever seen him angry?’ ‘I don’t understand how he gets his teammates to understand him if he doesn’t show anything.'” He expressed some of the phrases he was already used to hearing. “Even some mentions you. 'I already understand why they chose Ennoshita to be the vice-captain, to make up for Akaashi's lack of smile.' 'One smiles and the other doesn’t, they are good leaders both inside and outside the stadium.' And it tires me, you know? Let them think and say those things when the two of us were chosen because of our abilities and because we can be trusted as team leaders.”

Ennoshita just continued to observe him as well as listen to him, since he hadn’t had the slightest idea that Akaashi always heard those phrases, realizing that sometimes, even his best friend wasn’t at all expressive in his own way to him.

“And he, he was supposed to be the exception." Akaashi said, and although they both didn’t think of anyone other than Bokuto, Akaashi also remembered the conversation he had had with Tsukishima when he had approached him to talk about him on the subject of how to express their feelings when they weren’t completely outsider people. “I understand, we can all make mistakes. I also commit them. But he only had to trust me. He had nothing to do but trust me, and he just did the opposite. And I'm tired," Akaashi added, and his voice only continued to break more as new tears left his eyes again. “I don’t do it on purpose, since I was a child I heard people asking my parents why I didn’t smile. It's just me, I'm the way I am, and I express myself as I can, and Bokuto was supposed to understand me. That he would understand me. But he didn’t. He just didn’t.”

Akaashi fell backwards with his back on the grass of the field at the same time he covered his face with both hands, as he couldn’t stop crying after continuing to think that Bokuto hadn’t really trusted him, and that on the contrary, he had tried to give him a potion that would make him tell the truth, because although he could answer questions in class without feeling ashamed as well as coordinating a quidditch team, he didn’t express himself in the way everyone expected him to do. And Ennoshita rested his elbow on the grass to lay down next to him as his face on the palm of his face, while he rested his other hand on one of Akaashi’s arms to make him a little caress, showing him that he counted with him, being even more surprised time since Akaashi hadn't even referred to Bokuto as he always did.

"It's really tiring," Akaashi said after a few seconds, his chest rising and falling deeply, trying to calm his breathing as his still-glazed gaze rested on the gray sky above them, and though he felt frustrated, he somehow felt calm when Ennoshita continued to stroke his arm. Being the captain and the vice-captain pleased them, not only because they were the guides of the team and they all trusted them, but also because they could take advantage of those moments after the practices to devise strategies for their lives outside the field, being that moment one of the opportunities Akaashi took in his favour. “I'm just tired, and disappointed.” He said, and then let out a sigh. He looked at Ennoshita for a second before holding his gaze in the sky again. “But at least it was finally clear that you are the one that has reciprocated feelings while I don’t.”

Although Ennoshita had changed his mind after having begun to think that they both had people who loved them as they did to them, he still smiled sideways when Akaashi rested his gaze on him, until he suddenly opened his eyes like two big plates when he realized that Akaashi had somehow realized that something had happened with Tanaka without him needing to tell him, and although he remained speechless, he allowed a smile to appear on his face when Akaashi let the same gesture on his.

As much as he had wanted to tell his best friends about the fact that during all that time Tanaka seemed to have always corresponded to his feelings, between Akaashi and Bokuto not speaking to each other, and Kenma finally telling them what had happened with Kuroo, he had felt that it wouldn’t have been well on his part to tell them, since it would have been like showing in their faces that he was fine with the person he wanted. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to reproach Akaashi how he had discovered him, but he remembered that he wasn’t the center of attention in that situation, but his best friend, who soon found himself serious again.

"I'll just tell you this," Ennoshita began, taking advantage of the fact that his best friend again watched him. “If you weren’t enough, you wouldn’t be my best friend as well as Kenma's, so when you have doubts about yourself, think about that and stop doubting yourself." He expressed, and Akaashi swallowed before releasing a puff of air, still sobbing but with no tears decorating his face. “And just let me add this. If you really believe that Bokuto's mistake is unforgivable because it affects you as a person, once and for all I will accept that you were always right in saying that only I have reciprocal feelings, whereas if you think it's something you can let go of because you understand that Bokuto was wrong but always wanted, and wants, the best for you, I will be waiting for when you accept that we both have always been on the wrong side of the discussion because we both have feelings that are mutual and not just one of us like we always said. And listen to me. You don’t need to change your way of being just because most want you to be like others. But only for you to realize, and for you to stop thinking that you don’t know how to express yourself, you just talked about it, cried for it, and as always, expressed yourself in your own way. You just expressed yourself. And whether it's this way or yours, you're enough. Did you hear me well? You are enough.”

Akaashi listened to him attentively, realizing that his best friend was right not only because he had finally stopped moving away from them to remain alone and in the process try to keep everything inside him, but also because he had talked about it with him, because he had cried, and because if Kenma and Ennoshita were able to understand him, as well as his housemates, then he didn't need to change. He didn't need to be like everyone else. His eyes ached from crying, he was tired of wetting the corners of his hoodie’s sleeves with his tears, and he no longer wanted to feel that he disappointed his team, since he would have liked to be more lively during the previous practices they had coordinated, since with everything that had happened, what he had been less able to focus on was the fact that they had won a game as a team, as the new face of Ravenclaw.

At the moment he didn’t know if that time would be the last time he would cry or not, although he was more inclined to think that probably not, but anyway he rubbed his eyes before releasing a great breath of air. Having allowed Ennoshita to talk to him had been the right decision, and for the same reason he chose to sat, making his best friend too, to then surround him with his arms.

Ennoshita remained dumbfounded when Akaashi hugged him but at the same time not, since he didn’t doubt that he had felt alone and had sought that despite all the remoteness he had imposed, he and kenma wouldn’t stop looking for him, either sleeping next to him him, speaking to him or only being present. He corresponded to his gesture, and didn’t doubt to caress his back to let him know that he would always be his best friend, and that therefore, he would never give up until he managed to make him release all his frustrations.

The two barely separated, and although Ennoshita noticed that Akaashi continued without smiling, he knew that there was nothing more he could do from that moment on. He had managed to get his best friend to open up with him, so his situation with Bokuto would only change if Akaashi wanted to.

“Now you consider yourself a guru of love thanks to Tanaka?” Akaashi asked him, and finally they both laughed when they heard those words.

Just as it had happened during the game, Ennoshita held a big smile on his face when he heard and saw Akaashi laugh, since that gesture had ceased to be evident on his face in the last days.

“For Merlin, Akaashi Keiji, how do you do to know everything in this life?”

Akaashi laughed slightly when he heard him. “I don't know everything, I was just about to call you because the others wanted to jump on you as soon as you entered the field, and I saw you with Tanaka.” He explained him.

Ennoshita felt that his cheeks burned and threw himself on the grass in an extremely dramatic way, until he rested his arms on the field and lifted his head to see his best friend with half-closed eyes. Akaashi laughed again when he saw him, and chose to lay down next to him, getting Ennoshita to leave his head on the grass again. The two rested their eyes on the gray sky that had been accompanying them since the practice had begun and ended.

“Akaashi,”

“What is it?”

“We won.” Ennoshita expressed.

He still had on his body the different marks that his confrontations with Kyoutani had caused him, the scraping on Akaashi’s neck was evident, Suna had told them that his arm hurt him a little, and Kenma had left the quidditch field with tears in his eyes because Futakuchi had hurt him with his words. But none of that had taken away that they had won, that they had finally obtained the first victory for the house to which they belonged, and for which everyone had taken the game as a personal challenge.

Akaashi let out a sigh.

To know the players that made up the team, to have spoken with Ennoshita and Kenma after having made the effort to devise strategies even if none of them felt in their best condition, to create gestures that would allow them to change tactics in the middle of the game, and to have been able to resist the whole game no matter how bad he had felt. Ennoshita had acted as his vice-captain, and he had coordinated the team as the captain of the same he was.

“We won.” He repeated. "But at what cost?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Yachi, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are worried.


	68. Chapter 68

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for keep on reading!! Almost 70 chapters😱

Futakuchi was trying to do his homework at the table that belonged to his house in the Great Hall, not only because he hadn’t wanted to be in his common room first so he wouldn’t cross paths with anyone on the team, but also to avoid hearing comments about his performance during the game or receiving glances for the same reason, although once he found himself on that part of the castle, he understood that the looks towards him or the murmurs with his name in the beginning wouldn’t disappear. He was the only one on that side of the table, chosing to turn his back on the others for obvious reasons, even if in the end, for the same reason he didn’t see at what moment Akaashi entered the Great Hall to scan the place with his determined gaze until he spotted him at his table.

And Futakuchi remained completely surprised when suddenly one side of his body was pushed to lay on the bench on the table, at the same time that Akaashi sat on his lap and pointed at him with his wand, keeping the tip of it an inch away of his face when Futakuchi tried to take his head off the bench, and raised both hands innocently. He had thought that the first person to lash out at him would be someone from his house, but he couldn’t say that he was impressed with the fact that the Ravenclaw captain had been the first to demonstrate the anger his actions towards his teammate had caused him.

"We won, and we couldn’t even celebrate." Akaashi stated, watching him steadily, not caring that he suddenly managed to attract all the attention of the rest of the students, while the one he kept immobilized under him listened attentively. “And you want to know why?”

“Because you don’t know what it is to celebrate unless they return you an exam with a good grade?” Futakuchi couldn’t deny that he was completely nervous because he was pointing a wand at him, but also because the boy on top of him was watching him in a certain way, but that didn’t mean he decided not to use sarcasm anyway, because if he was one of those who were scared before a sudden change, then his reputation would be a different one.

"Because you ruined our chance to do it since you decided that hurting one of my players, and unfortunately for you my best friend too, was more important than catching the snitch." Akaashi corrected him.

"You should be grateful, you won." Futakuchi dared to take off the head of the bank, but returned to rest on it when the Ravenclaw assured him that he wouldn’t mind winning a detention in case he needed to keep him immobilized with the help of magic.

"Not thanks to you." Akaashi assured him. “But because we are a serious team.”

“How much if you can’t protect your friends?”

"I can make sure you don’t do it again." Akaashi expressed, leaving the palm of his free hand above his head to provide himself balance to allow his face to stay within inches of his, making Futakuchi swallow with difficulty not only because that boy was more than attractive even if he was threatening him, but also because he knew that prettiness could be lethal. “Don’t get involved with my best friend again." The Ravenclaw added, who, despite holding his wand still, was aware of the fear he could influence if he was angry, just like at that moment.

“You don’t mess with mine either.”

Futakuchi remained stupefied when a shadow was projected on both he and the Ravenclaw, and Akaashi finally stopped looking at him with his serious blue eyes when he turned his attention to Yahaba, who was observing him in the same way and with his wand pointing at him.

"Don’t force me Akaashi," Said the one who had entered the Great Hall hoping to find his best friend, only to see him being threatened. “I'll talk with him." He added.

Akaashi observed him for a few seconds to verify that his last words had been true, and returned to rest his blue eyes on the one who gave him an innocent smile, and who felt that part of the tranquility returned to his body when Akaashi stopped maintaining himself above him as well as he kept his wand. He watched the two of them one more time, and then left without giving them another word.

“That boy is as hot as intense!” Futakuchi exclaimed once he sat down.

“You stupid fool!” He only managed to win a blow from his best friend who didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the fact that he had got up again, to hit his head with the base of the fist he had formed with his hand. “Stop making the Ravenclaws get mad at you!”

Futakuchi complaint about the blow received as Yahaba kept his wand to sit next to him while he watched him with a frown, since he hadn’t expected to find him being threatened by nothing less and nothing more than the Ravenclaw quidditch team captain, with whose the team his best friend seemed obsessed with annoying.

"I don’t have to get along with them just because you do" Futakuchi said, crossing his arms once he finished rubbing the hitten area of his head.

“But you don’t have to look for a fight either!” Yahaba exclaimed.

“I don’t look for it, they are only collateral effects.”

“Then indeed was for Kuroo.” Yahaba didn’t hesitate to state after not doubting that his best friend’s behavior had to do with the fact that his feelings continued being unrequited, and finally he had been able to release his frustrations with the one that made his own increase: Kenma.

"Something like that." Futakuchi said, drawing his attention, “It was also for you.”

"I really don’t understand how you are in Slytherin when the least you have is self-preservation," Yahaba decided to stop sitting on his side to place his legs on the same side of the bench and rest his elbows on the table to take his head with both hands, without being able to believe that the one sitting next to him was capable of performing those actions and not even for himself. “Explain now please." He asked.

Futakuchi's face set aside all joking traces when he observed him.

“Yeah, I couldn’t help but unleash on Kenma because he represents who I can never have,” He expressed, accepting that he had released his frustrations with him because he was the one who rejected Kuroo's feelings while he longed for them, although he himself knew why the Ravenclaw seeker stayed away from Kuroo. “But I also did it because neither Kuroo nor Oikawa did anything to help you when Kyoutani appeared. They could have warned you beforehand, they could have asked you how you felt about it, or they could have helped you in some way like I did as soon as I saw how you got into the training. But they didn’t, so since they bothered you, I bothered them." He added without ever stopping staring at him. Which also allowed him to see the marks on Yahaba’s neck, to which he raised an eyebrow and his face was even more serious. “It was for nothing, right?” He expressed after a few seconds. “You already came back with him.” As soon as Yahaba turned his head towards him and brushed the area of his neck where the hickeys were visible, Futakuchi suddenly stood up and frowned. “Are you fucking kidding me, Yahaba!?” He exclaimed completely angry.

The aforementioned didn’t hesitate to take his hand to make him sit down again after realizing that several had returned their attention to them because of the words he had shouted, and he stared at him while Futakuchi looked at him discontentedly.

“I only ask you not to judge me” Yahaba told at him.

“Are you joking with me?!” The fact that his best friend again glared back at him with his gaze was enough for Futakuchi to decide to approach him to speak in a low voice. “I am the person who can least judge someone else, and to top it all, you believe me capable of judging you when I don’t even understand how you are still my best friend after everything I've done?” Futakuchi expressed at the top that his voice in a whisper allowed him

Yahaba looked at him surprised since by his first shout he had thought that he wouldn’t hesitate to attack him, so he remained impressed not only at his first words, but also when he mentioned that he didn’t understand how it was that he continued to be with him when he wasn’t blameless.

“I'm your best friend because I'm your best friend. Don’t look for another explanation.”

"I should have stayed with you the night of the match." Futakuchi ignored his words.

"Are you saying you wish you had prevented me from getting laid with Kyoutani?"

Yahaba swallowed with difficulty when the astonished look of his best friend settled on him, realizing that at no time had he assimilated the marks on his neck with the fact that they had met again in that intimate way, but then Futakuchi returned to hold his usual expression until he let out a sigh, seeming to try to control his own self.

“I don’t want him to hurt you. I don’t want you to be the one who ends up sad." Futakuchi said staring at him. “Not again. Not a second time. If he hurts you once, it's his fault. If he hurts you twice, it's yours.”

“I know.”

Yahaba knew better than anyone that his best friend was the one who was most concerned about him and his decisions, since he had been the one who had given him the most moral support, and who continued to give it him, when he needed it most, when he felt that the air disappeared and that he betrayed his own body as well as his mind.

“Don’t expect me to trust him just because yo do.” Futakuchi determined, believing that his best friend had returned to rest his confidence too quickly on the one who had returned to be their teammate and roommate, but also knowing that Yahaba had been the must hurt when Kyoutani had left, and that if he trusted him again, he was conscious enough to know he would be the one to pay the consequences of the other's actions and words again in case something happened. “I assure you I won’t be like Akaashi and you, and I will really use my wand against Kyoutani if I see a single tear on your face again because of him.”

Yahaba didn’t hesitate to give him a hug as soon as he heard him.

The Ravenclaws weren’t the only ones who maintained great relations of friendship among themselves. Yahaba had always known that Futakuchi wasn’t the calmest or simplest person to deal with, that he was generally angry, that most people didn’t like him, that he found it hard to trust others as well as himself, that his bad humor was inevitable, and that he was as sarcastic and ironic as he was. But he wanted him because he was his best friend and he accepted him no matter how many defects he had, because in the same way Futakuchi accepted all of his. Futakuchi was misunderstood, and he was one of the few people who allowed him to get close enough to notice other features of his personality that the rest didn’t know.

Futakuchi corresponded to his embrace because he had understood that no matter how much he or Yahaba could be wrong, they would always be for each other in order to contain each other and not allow the other to drown in their own problems. The two made mistakes knowing that the other would appeared to cross his arms and raise an eyebrow, or to provide help to repair it.

“Love makes you do stupid things.” Futakuchi expressed.

“You still like Kuroo?” Yahaba asked him, still hugging him.

“I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about you.” The brunet only embraced him tightly, “You are my best friend and I love you, I just don’t want anyone to hurt you.”

Yahaba wasn’t surprised to hear him, and only hugged his best friend with more force, hiding part of his head on his neck. He didn't need Futakuchi to explain with great detail what he had done during the game and why he had managed to get the opposing team's seeker to catch the snitch, and then run away with tears in his eyes, because although he wasn't t close to Kuroo nor Kenma, he had to be blind not to glimpse the feelings that surrounded them, and he didn't doubt that his best friend had taken advantage of that exaggeration of emotions to turn them against them and create an opportunity for him because he was attracted to the one who coordinated the team they both belonged to. And that all he had done had been because his feelings weren’t reciprocated, and because both Kuroo and Oikawa hadn’t consulted him about what he thought of Kyoutani rejoining the team.

Yahaba knew Futakuchi defended him in the way he could. He couldn’t reproach him for forgetting Kuroo quickly when he had never overcome what had happened with Kyoutani. He couldn't ask Futakuchi to stop thinking about the captain who coordinated them when having feelings was never a simple matter.

“I love you too.” He assured him, “And I won’t think nor feel the contrary as long as I know you're sorry for what you did." Yahaba continued, because although he had just told his best friend that he loved him, it was because he knew when to scold him or not, because he knew him as well as he knew the intentions with which he made decisions, and that although he thanked him that in his own way he would have bothered Oikawa and Kuroo, it hadn't been okay that Kenma was the target of his anger.

"Surprisingly, I am." Futakuchi said.

Finally the two separated, and although Yahaba had already wanted to smile after hearing him, he continued serious anyway, since it was fair that Futakuchi was sorry for what he had done

“And will you do something about it?” He asked him.

Futakuchi turned his gaze to his book that was on the table.

He would do what he had been doing for several minutes while pretending that his real attention was in those pages, and until Akaashi had arrived, as well as carrying out what he had kept in his mind while he had been awake for not being able to fall asleep the night of the game.

"Think." He replied, again resting his gaze on his best friend. “And then act the right way.”

Yahaba smiled, but didn’t hesitate to give him a blow on the arm for acting the way he had, and he smiled widely again while his best friend frowned.

“You aren’t here by simple chance, right?” Yahaba asked him.

“Do you think they’ll let me remain in the team because I'm the only seeker or they will throw me out anyway because I have really filled everyone's patience, and anyone will offer to take my place just for me to be left out?” Futakuchi asked instead of answering.

Yahaba rested his hand on his shoulder and watched him.

"If they kick you out, believe me," He determined, and smiled confidently, “This time I’ll unleash hell.”

Futakuchi lowered his head to give a small giggle, and looked up again.

"Or perhaps in Slytherin...” He began to say, reciting what the Sorting Hat had told him the night he had been sorted.

"... you’ll make your true friends." Yahaba concluded, remembering the sentence that six years later continued explaining the friendship between them.

The two were best friends since they had discovered they would share a room because they were in the same year and same house, although while they had waited in line to be sorted off, they had known that they would get along after both laughing once they saw Osamu push his brother so Atsumu would stop bothering him. They were inseparable not only because they belonged to the same house, but because they understood each other, and because after creating their own reputations, they were still the same eleven-year-old children who had mutually introduced themselves at the Slytherin table after sitting next to each other. Yahaba knew Futakuchi just as Futakuchi knew Yahaba. They both made mistakes, weren’t perfect, and somedays could be wrong, but they knew there was nothing to worry about as long as they continued to face all the challenges together.

After deciding to leave his best friend alone so that he would continue pretending that he was paying attention to the book in front of him instead of being highly induced in his own thoughts about his recent reactions, Yahaba left the Great Hall only to run into the person he had thought of looking to talk to him.

Ennoshita stopped with his book in hand and Yahaba raised an eyebrow, and the two stared at each other with narrowed eyes for long seconds.

"Don’t mention Saturday’s result." Yahaba said.

"Don’t mention the bruises on my face." Ennoshita imitated.

The two nodded and began to walk together down the hall, until they realized that they couldn’t help exposing the pillar of their strange friendship.

“How was it that you said you were going to beat me?” The Ravenclaw asked.

"Maybe hitting you will make you have brain cells again." The Slytherin implied.

“And what about the marks on your neck? I doubt they are just bruises like mine.”

Yahaba glared at him while Ennoshita didn’t hesitate to start laughing out loud when the other accommodated the shirt and tunic around his neck, as well as the scarf with the colors of his house that had apparently gone untidy and therefore left in sight the consequences of returning to have agreed to allow his feelings towards Kyoutani to flow.

"If I knew that hitting me would make the two of you get horny, maybe we could have played Quidditch before," Ennoshita expressed highly entertained, “Maybe, just so the love between you will be reborn, I would let you hit me.”

Yahaba didn’t hesitate to give him a push with the side of his body and didn’t care that the other complained since it was evident that the one that had left marks on his neck, was the same that had left other types of marks on the shoulder of the one by his side.

"Isn’t he angry because you paid attention to me instead of him?”

Ennoshita smiled again, extremely amused.

Yahaba rolled his eyes remembering the moment when he had prevented a bludger from going against him, even though they were from different teams and therefore from different houses.

“The game wouldn’t have been even if you had one player less. And remember that I'm the only one who can bother you, and I don’t plan on letting a ball take away my work as the only annoying being in your life." Yahaba wasn’t sorry for having helped him, and Ennoshita knew the same thing, so he continued smiling. "Oh, by the way," Yahaba said, “I threatened your best friend.” Suddenly the smile on the Ravenclaw's face disappeared to be replaced by a grimace of confusion. "I entered the Great Hall only to find Akaashi pointing his wand at Futakuchi." Yahaba added as if it was something he saw every day and wasn’t surprised by the scene he had encountered as soon as he had entered that place in the castle.

“So you threatened my best friend because he threatened your best friend, who in turn made my other best friend cry?” Ennoshita said thinking of his own words, and the boy beside him nodded. “Maintaining friendships is complicated," He expressed, realizing that he was lucky to only have two best friends so that more people close to him wouldn’t be in trouble, although he wouldn’t hesitate to defend anyone on the team even if he didn’t keep up with them the same kind of relationship he had with his two roommates, as he had shown when the problem with Kunimi had arisen. “I'm beginning to believe that unconsciously I keep a certain special place of affection for Futakuchi. I still haven’t done anything against him, rather than win him, of course." He held a funny smile when Yahaba narrowed his eyes at his last words, “What does he have against us? It seems as if it were more Slytherin versus Ravenclaw than Slytherin versus Gryffindor.”

After finishing speaking, Ennoshita rested his eyes on Yahaba, who had stood to remain holding several thoughts at once while keeping his gaze lost somewhere in the castle.

“It's complicated.” Was the only thing he said.

“What isn’t?” The Ravenclaw expressed smiling.

Yahaba watched him with a small smile when he heard him, being aware Ennoshita didn’t ask for any explanation about Futakuchi's behavior.

"I know he seems to deserve it but please don’t bother him," Yahaba said anyway, “He will have enough with all of the team, and I think that after your best friend pointed at him with his wand, it was clear to him that he shouldn’t mess with you.”

"I know, Akaashi can be scary." Ennoshita agreed, opening his eyes like two large plates, but then shook his head and watched him. “Why do you always defend Futakuchi? You know what he's doing isn't right."

"I know, I hit him in the head for the same thing." Yahaba expressed, and despite the seriousness that accompanied Ennoshita’s previous words, he laughed. “I know he looks like a bad person, but he's changing, and most importantly, he's my best friend.”

The Ravenclaw supposed that it wasn’t worth questioning the type of relationship he had with Futakuchi only because he was a stranger to that friendship, since it had become clear to him that Yahaba was willing to defend him in the same way he did and would do for Akaashi and Kenma.

"So," He began to say instead, earning Yahaba's attention. ”What does it feel to lose?”

“You tell me. You lost against Hufflepuff.”

“And you against Gryffindor. And of course, against me too.”

Yahaba looked at him completely serious before deciding to give him a blow equal to the one he had given to Futakuchi in the head. 

* * *

Yamaguchi, Tsukishima and Yachi had been interspersing their eyes on the same two people for more than five minutes, unable to prevent their eyes from going from one table to the other. The three being at the doors of the Great Hall, moving their heads from side to side and in a coordinated manner while the same thought united them.

"This is so wrong," Yamaguchi said with a grimace on his face.

"I can't believe what my eyes see." Yachi pouted.

"It's frustrating." Tsukishima added.

After belonging to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, which tables were side by side, and after being part of the quidditch teams of the respective houses, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi as players while Yachi, who after having realized that drawing the players was a useful tool to give them certain types of indications even if she wasn’t an expert in sports, had begun to pay more attention in the trainings; had certainly served them to realize that something was bad, completely out of place.

Instead of sitting facing each other as they were accustomed to do to cast sideways glances while the other wasn’t paying attention or to allow their eyes to meet, at that time both Akaashi and Bokuto were sitting for their backs to be those on facing each other. The two had changed sides only to avoid themselves again, and although the three at the door of the Great Hall believed that it was a gesture that could be overlooked by several, for them it turned out to be totally strange, since although they were aware that during in the last few days, those two hadn’t been in their best situation, the fact that at that time they were turning their backs on each other, marked a new disposition.

Tsukishima leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms. "I don't like them being like that," He said, quickly getting the other two at his side to rest their attention on him. “Akaashi-san kind of helped me when we started to go out.” He added, stopping looking at the captain of his team to look at Yamaguchi, who held a small smile on his face. “I think I have an idea of why they are like this.”

"It's as if Bokuto-san had immersed himself in one of his moods," Yachi expressed.

It was true that she wasn’t officially part of the team, but being present in most of the workouts of her house had made her be present when it had sometimes been noticeable that Bokuto was frustrated because a pass didn’t come out like he wanted to.

"Lately the workouts have been very quiet," Yamaguchi added, agreeing with his housemate, since he was used to the captain of his team being smiling from the beginning of the practice to the end, instead of simply saying the instructions for that training in an off way.

"I thought something would change after we won, but everything’s the same," Tsukishima told them about Ravenclaw's training, since he had certainly expected that after the victory they had won against Slytherin, the practice environment would change, but that hadn’t been the reality. “Or even worse.” He added, since in the last training, although Akaashi had congratulated them on everyone's performance during the match, Ennoshita had again taken over the practice.

Tsukishima wasn’t bothered that Ennoshita took the reins because after all he was the vice-captain, but it was remarkable that although he tried to do his best, Akaashi worked differently with them.

Neither of the three knew exactly what had happened so that Akaashi and Bokuto chose to sit that way, and so that they both didn’t lead the practices as usual, but Tsukishima believed that perhaps the captain of his team kept his distance because it existed the possibility that Bokuto had made a mistake that was difficult for him to forgive.

"I even miss getting up early because his voice is heard all over Hufflepuff," Yachi said.

"Should we do something to try to cheer him up? He always tries to cheer us on,” Yamaguchi suggested, bringing his fingers to his chin after trying to think of some idea.

"I think Akaashi-san's presence would be the only thing that could cheer him up." Tsukishima told them, and the two Hufflepuffs held the same grimace.

"Then we are ruined."

Tsukishima glanced at Yamaguchi before returning his eyes to Akaashi.

Even before Kunimi had asked him if he also felt that the workouts had changed in some way. It was obvious to them that Akaashi had changed his way of working, and if he was right about the reasons he thought about why his captain and Bokuto were acting that way, then he thought it wasn’t a bad idea to try to cheer up his own captain, or perhaps only to speak with him, since after all, the words that Akaashi had said to him, had served him so that his relationship with Yamaguchi worked, and he had to confess that even though sometimes Bokuto managed to alter his day with his energetic way of acting and his out of focus positive attitude, he couldn’t deny that he was a great person and that both Yamaguchi and Yachi and Akaashi admired him, as well as a part of him.

He didn't know if his words would work, but he wouldn’t lose anything by trying to cheer the captain of his team, since after all, they had to be a team both inside and outside the quidditch field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Akaashi keeps having conversations he doesn't know he wants to have, and Yaku is tired of talking with his own self.


	69. Chapter 69

“Akaashi-san.”

The aforementioned looked up from his book once he heard his name being mentioned, since the only two people he was accustomed to hear calling him in that way, were the two fifth-years students of his quidditch team, and as soon as he saw that on that occasion was Tsukishima and not Kunimi who had approached him, managed to make him close his book on his lap to focus his attention on him, since usually the second used to appear to ask questions about some subject.

Tsukishima watched him, being aware that although he had practiced what to say before, at that time he remained silent, because even if he shared training with Akaashi and even belonged to the same house and therefore shared the same common room as well as table in the Great Hall, it was the first time he was close enough to him during those days, confirming that he had done well to approach since he was sure the dark circles under Akaashi's eyes weren’t due to the study or having stayed up late writing essays, no subject being the problem on making his face remain expressionless even if the seriousness was evident on it.

But Akaashi took his silence as a sign that he wanted to tell him something but didn't know how. He had expected that sooner or later that would happen, but he had thought it would be Ennoshita to do so considering they were the two leaders of the team they coordinated.

"I'm sorry if lately my performance during training has not been the same as always, and therefore I’m making them not as practical as Ennoshita and I tend to." Akaashi didn’t doubt to express, because although no one had told him, he had expected someone from the team to opt for talking to him to emphasize or ask him why lately Ennoshita was the one to carry out the training. He didn’t want his personal life to intermingle with his role as captain, but it had become clear that it was already impossible for him to separate what was happening inside and outside the quidditch field.

"No, it's okay, Ennoshita-san gives good instructions even if he sometimes starts singing in the middle of the training," Tsukishima said, rejoicing a little when he momentarily managed to get Akaashi to hold a small smile on his face. “I came to talk about another matter.”

From one moment to the next Akaashi's face changed, and he raised an eyebrow.

“About what?”

Tsukishima certainly felt intimidated by the seriousness on his face, but he chose to speak anyway since he also knew Yamaguchi and Yachi trusted him so that at least one of the three would achieve something for the leaders of their teams to return to be as they always used to. Looking at each other, Bokuto smiling, and Akaashi pretending to read while he was fully aware Bokuto was watching him.

"I don't want to overpass, but not everything’s okay with Bokuto-san, is it?"

Part of the seriousness seemed to disappear from Akaashi's face when he heard his words, although another kind of emotion settled when he heard the name of the captain of the Hufflepuff team, realizing that his attitude had changed to the point that even Tsukishima had chosen to approach to speak with him.

"Do you remember when you approached me when you started dating Yamaguchi?" Akaashi chose to ask, and after nodding, Tsukishima confirmed that he had found himself right in thinking what kind of problems both captains were having. “Apparently I'm good at giving advice but not at following them.”

So it was related to a problem on how to express himself.

"It makes sense, after all you are the captain," Tsukishima said, and Akaashi held a barely divisible smile. “Can I say something?” He asked, and the other nodded. “Any relationship has its own obstacles and each person has their own problems, but I think it’s better to solve them with help, talking about it, maybe, isn’t it?”

"What if there's no communication?"

"Create the opportunity for there to be."

"What if it seems difficult?"

“We Ravenclaws are characterized by overcoming any obstacle, aren't we?”

Akaashi looked around them, seeming to be thinking.

"I think so." He agreed in a whisper.

"Gryffindors face the obstacle face to face. Slytherins look for all possible ways to face it, and Hufflepuffs strive to cope. We Ravenclaws take all those possibilities to choose which one is the best depending on the moment, or situation.”

"What if no possibility works?"

"There are always more options. More methods, more possibilities, more ways.”

"Because a Ravenclaw creates them due to our curiosity, wit, and creativity."

"Exactly." Tsukishima said, “We never leave anything unresolved.”

“Because a closing or a beginning is more logical.”

The blond nodded, hoping that somehow his words would make Akaashi decide to engage in some kind of conversation with Bokuto, since in addition, after the Hufflepuff had appeared on their table after Akaashi enchanted Lev, it had become clear to him that Akaashi was the one who moved away from Bokuto while he the one who was looking for him.

"Yes, unresolved things are never good." Akaashi added.

But after the game were they had faced Slytherin, Tsukishima also visualized that Bokuto was no longer looking for Akaashi, so he didn’t doubt that something had happened. He admired them both. At Bokuto not only because Yamaguchi always spoke well of him, but also because he managed to find the motivation to do everything and never lose the smile on his face, while at Akaashi not only because he admired his way of thinking and devising strategies, and because they had allowed them to get their first victory in the tournament, but also because Akaashi never let any detail to escape his vision and he didn’t only focus on the present. And although he felt he exceeded his limits, he chose to sit next to him at that time.

Akaashi watched him, and Tsukishima decided to hold his gaze.

“We just want the two of you to be together again, Akaashi-san.”

Having been sorted in Ravenclaw had made Tsukishima understand that it wasn’t worth speaking unless he was completely straightforward, and although he wasn’t who to tell Akaashi what to do, it was his right to make him realize that if everyone wanted him and Bokuto to be together again, was because they needed each other, because they both had friends who knew that Akaashi was the best for Bokuto and Bokuto the best for Akaashi. Because not only were he, Yamaguchi and Yachi the worried ones, but also Ennoshita, Kenma, and Kuroo. All the ones who made up the quidditch teams of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Because everyone knew they didn’t know how to function without each other, that they were made to be together because they were a balance, and because that balance made everyone feel calm.

“And what about what I want?” Akaashi asked.

“What do you want?” Tsukishima asked him instead.

The captain of the Ravenclaw team remained silent, knowing that in case of answering aloud, his answer would coincide with what apparently everyone wanted him and Bokuto to do, and for the same reason Tsukishima allowed a small smile to appear on his face, because despite everything he had seen and heard during the last few days, at no time he had doubted that Akaashi hadn’t managed to erase Bokuto from his life and his thoughts.

And because sometimes, no answer was the best answer. 

* * *

Yaku knew that he couldn’t tolerate it anymore when he was forced to cover his own mouth with his hand, since he was determined to not let that sound of pleasure to leave his lips, and much less than the one that was giving him the necessary thing to do so, to hear him.

He didn’t want to think anymore. He was already tired of hearing his thoughts quarrel with each other. He was annoyed with himself because lately he felt that he didn’t agree with his own emotions and unleashed thousands of battles within his body for not deciding what he wanted. He changed his attitude constantly, and was tired of having to hear all the voices inside his head that repeated its own postures. And he was angry with himself, because although the fifth-year boy who at that moment was kissing his neck as if it was his own mouth, was extremely innocent and never understood his true attitudes.

He had kissed him and then he had hidden from him. He had told him that he loved him too, and had tried again to stay away from him. Whenever they took a new step in their relationship, he would go backwards because he couldn’t agree with himself and Yaku knew he had to make a decision, but he couldn’t do it being seated on Lev’s lap.

Neither of them knew how it was that they had arrived at that situation. The seventh-year had been focused on his classes since he had voiced out loud that he loved him, but unlike the previous time, he couldn’t stay away because Lev found him before he could foresee him. And instead of being pulled to a small place, both were in the room of the elder, taking advantage that his partner was with a Slytherin of his same year. Lev remained with his back barely separated from the wall since his head was sunk in the neck of the older, while Yaku was sitting on top of him with his knees resting on the sides of his legs, with his head slightly tilted so that the fifth-year could continue satisfying him, although avoiding to express it aloud when he covered his mouth.

They had been kissing uncontrollably. Lev because he could never stop his mouth when he was with him, and Yaku because he craved those occasions when the fifth-year appeared since he was looking for him. He wanted to deny it and say that being with him wasn’t the right thing to do, but his agitated heart, his explored lips, his hands on the back of his neck, and his body on his, expressed the opposite.

“Lev, I can’t.”

But his feelings weren’t the only ones at stake. And Yaku's thoughts were those that always ruined the moments they both shared.

Lev pulled away from him to look at him.

That greenish look that combined with his pale skin and grayish hair had brought him too many problems. Again Yaku contradicted himself when he gave him a light caress on the cheek, and then let out a sigh. He wanted him. It was a fact, it was the truth. Being with him pleased him as well as feeling his arms wrapped around his waist too. He liked him. His immature personality, his honest innocence, his way of developing and his way of being extremely sincere although sometimes the same one could bring him problems.

Lev approached him to give him a quick but affectionate kiss on his lips, and Yaku accepted it. He didn’t stop struggling with his own emotions, and again he made it clear when he hugged and continued stroking his cheek. Yaku released a sigh before ending the embrace between them and return to face their eyes after kissing him on the cheek.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Yaku smiled. Lev was so innocent that he even believed that his own mood swings were due to him when they were really his own fault. He shook his head, and Lev looked at him strangely.

"I did something wrong," Yaku said, and Lev watched him. “Loving you," He murmured. But Lev heard him after being extremely close to him, and his expression changed completely. Yaku noticed that his facial features transformed to leave space for a grimace of sadness and affliction, and he hurried to speak as he placed his hands on his cheeks and rested his forehead on his before the fifth-year had the wrong idea with his words. “I correct myself. I did wrong to let you love me.”

“But that's not something you can control.”

Doubt left Lev’s head as soon as he heard him.

“I know, bu—”

“You can’t decide for me.”

“It is what—“

“They're my feelings. I decide what I do with them.”

 "Lev, I don’t want to hurt you." Yaku managed to say.

“If you don’t let me love you, then you will.”

Yaku remained stupefied when he heard those words, and even more when Lev’s greenish look on him turned out to be severe and his face extremely serious. But then he stopped keeping his hands on his cheeks to gather them on the back of his head and gently caress his scalp, a gesture that Lev received by allowing a small smile to appear on his face to replace the momentary seriousness that had controlled him. He didn’t want Lev to get hurt because he couldn’t decide, but he believed that the fifth-year was right, because if he couldn’t even control his own feelings, much less he could dominate over his. Although he didn’t plan to do it either.

“I love you, and you can’t change that.”

Instead of responding to those words, Yaku contoured Lev's mouth with his thumb. He bit his own lower lip, and then joined his lips to his, because even if his thoughts told him that he had to get away, his body asked him otherwise. 

* * *

 

Neither of them knew how many minutes they remained looking at each other without saying a word. Their eyes rested on each other with intrigue, seriousness, and curiosity, as if reciprocally trying to find out their deepest secrets just by staring at each other for a long period of time. They tried to decipher what they really thought, even if their expressions were equally firm and severe. No one started the conversation nor opened his mouth to try to formulate a sentence. They just looked at each other, because even though nothing had happened between them, their respective best friends were in bad states because of the one they were looking at that moment. Between them there was nothing more than a relationship of mutual respect, and maybe, a hint of confidence.

“I heard that you use your wand outside of classes.” Kuroo finally said.

"Considering that whoever I pointed to was the same person who made your favorite person cry, you should thank me instead of emphasizing the fact." Akaashi expressed knowing that he had referred to the fact that he hadn’t hesitated to put Futakuchi in his place, because no one dared to messed up with Kenma and lived without any consequence.

The older of the two didn’t know what to say.

Akaashi had just assured him that Futakuchi had been the one to hurt Kenma as well as that he did know his own feelings towards the second of those, although he didn’t think either of the two mentions was a surprise since Futakuchi and Kenma were both seekers and therefore Kenma hadn’t met any other person who during the game could have caused that anguish on him, and because he always left in evidence how he felt for Kenma. But in any case he remained silent, knowing it was true that somehow he was grateful to Akaashi because he had put Futakuchi in his place, even if would have liked to be the one who did it considering he was Futakuchi’s captain, and also because after the person who held that position, he couldn’t allow the captain of another team to be prowling the hallway threatening his players.

But he would only let him pass since the only thing he needed to make his situation even worse was to get Akaashi to be against him, being aware they didn’t have a relationship with unicorns around either.

"Congratulations for winning." Kuroo expressed seriously.

“I can feel the poison in your words.” Akaashi held the same expression.

“I belong to Slytherin, I assumed that sooner or later I will become a snake.”

“Be careful with what you will say because eagles hunt them.”

Kuroo held a false smile. “Making a pun because you are a chaser?” He asked him.

"No. For being a Ravenclaw and getting fed up with your players." Akaashi stated, crossing his arms.

The seventh-year again wondered how it was possible that his best friend had fallen in love with the boy in front of him who wasn’t afraid to face him in order to defend his friends and ensure that everyone on his team was well, although it made him respect him because he wasn’t doing anything other than acting like the captain of his own team. Until he also remembered that just as Bokuto had allowed his heart to beat for Akaashi, he had let his own only correspond to Kenma.

“How is he?” He asked him, remembering why he had sought the one in front of him.

Akaashi knew who he was referring to as soon as he spoke.

“He needs time. And I think you should give it to him." He answered.

Kuroo remained stunned, because although there had always been differences between them, Akaashi had always allowed him to approach Kenma until that moment. But he didn’t seem to be extremely angry, being aware that didn’t prevent him from knowing Akaashi was willing to do whatever it took for his words to be fulfilled.

“You know you're asking me something difficult.” He said, but soon continued talking when he saw Akaashi opened his mouth. “But I will. I will give him time.” Kuroo assured him, remembering how Oikawa had told him that he only had to wait.

Akaashi remained impressed with his words, since he had thought that Kuroo wouldn’t hesitate to try to go after Kenma, but anyway decided to speak. “Trust me when I tell you I'm on your side, and the next time you see Kenma, he'll be the one looking for you.”

Kuroo raised an eyebrow at the sound of his words.

What was he missing? What was the detail he wasn’t seeing and Oikawa either?

If he should trust him that way, then Akaashi would also have to trust him.

"Then you trust me when I tell you that I'm on your side too, and that you should be the one to look for Bokuto."

Akaashi remained motionless as soon as he heard him, and even though it was a small change, Kuroo noticed that his words didn’t seem to be received with gratitude as he had thought. But instead of worrying, he moved his index finger to point between them.

“You are coming with me. Now. ” He said.

He was aware that the last time he had gotten in the middle, although his words had been taken as advice, neither Bokuto nor Akaashi had finished well after they had spoken. But Bokuto didn’t seem to get better, even less after the night on the Forbidden Forest, and even if the relationships he held with Bokuto and Akaashi were completely different and couldn’t even be compared, he also didn’t want to continue seeing the Ravenclaw act and speak in the way he did when it was obvious that both he and Bokuto weren’t okay.

"Why would I?" Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

“It's convenient for you.”

The Ravenclaw still hold a clear distrust on his expression, but anyway chose to move his feet when Kuroo turned his back to him to walk down the hall. He kept walking relatively far away from him, without really knowing what he was planning, but being fully aware that if Kuroo planned to gather him with Bokuto at that time, he wouldn’t hesitate to turn around and even use his wand if necessary to avoid an awkward situation. He began to feel nervous when the option to see Bokuto appeared on his head, but the confusion supplanted any other emotion when Kuroo stopped in front of one of the hall doors, and after opening it and entering, Akaashi remained at the door with a arched eyebrow when he saw that they were where the platform they usually used when they were in second year and did duels, was.

He noticed that Kuroo went up to it, and only approached him to look at him from below, until the Slytherin approached the edge of it and crouched down in front of him, making their faces stay totally close. They watched each other, their memories reminding them of the way in which they had done the greeting of captains before the match between their houses, but on that occasion, Kuroo simply smiled sideways.

"We will have a duel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Sometimes, releasing feelings through spells can be a solution.


	70. Chapter 70

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 70 chapters! Thank you so much for keep on reading, the comments, and kudos, everything means a lot, so again, thank you a lot❤️
> 
> I am so sorry if this chapter is a mess.

Akaashi's face finally changed when he heard him. He raised one of the corners of his lips in confusion, and frowned.

"We're not in second year."

"You're right." Kuroo agreed before straightening up with one hand extended towards him. "But you are too tense, and if I want to achieve something with you, it will only be after you stop being tense."

Akaashi placed his gaze between him and his hand. Over the years, he had begun to be able to read the situations in which Kuroo tried to provoke him and in those he didn’t, and when at that time he chose to follow the flow with whatever he was planning after climbing onto the platform, although not accepting his hand, Kuroo didn’t doubt to smile.

"Won't someone scold us?" Akaashi asked when they stood face to face.

It was already time after dinner, and they weren’t supposed to be there, much less when the plan was to make a duel between the two. He had already been discovered in a compassionate situation after Coach Ukai saw him and Bokuto kissing, and what he least needed was another teacher to see him at that time, about to make a duel with another student. But instead of focusing on the consequences and the hours of detention that been found in that situation could offer, he chose to remind how nervous he had felt after approaching Bokuto to pull his tie and make their lips finally met.

"My best friend is a prefect, Ravenclaw."

Akaashi was taken away from his thoughts when he heard Kuroo speak. He rolled his eyes, and only headed towards one of the corners of the platform when Kuroo started walking backwards to get closer to the other, and when he sighted him taking out his wand, Akaashi drew his own, realizing that he had really agreed to be there. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea, and for the same reason he had chosen to follow Kuroo instead of just saying goodbye and going to the Tower of Ravenclaw.

"You," Kuroo raised his wand to point at him, “Are too tense. It shows. In your shoulders, your way of walking, your body, your gestures, your voice, your face.” He expressed, since it was enough to see him from afar to feel that Akaashi was unfolding differently, although he had also had the opportunity to see him closely when their houses had faced each other in the quidditch field. “So let's have some action. Give me with your best spell.” He extended his arms, as if by that way he wanted to be left defenseless.

Akaashi remained silent as he scanned him with his gaze. He couldn't complain about the vain smirk on Kuroo's face, and he also knew that it was his own fault to find himself in that situation, given that the Slytherin just had needed to take a look to at him to notice the tension in his body and way of walking in case it hadn't been obvious. He had remained with his muscles stiff since he had left the Great Hall with Ennoshita after Bokuto had tried to give him the potion, and although the quidditch victory had been a joy, his body had still continued assuring him that he couldn’t be completely happy.

"Is this your way of getting me expelled?" Akaashi asked him.

Kuroo's smile simply increased.

"Give me with your best spell." He repeated.

Akaashi continued equally still. He thought he had an idea of what Kuroo wanted to achieve, but he still wasn't sure if he was willing to follow him. But the slytherin knew the same thing, so he didn't hesitate to keep talking when he didn't notice any change in the boy on the other side of the platform.

"You assured me that you are good with the theory," He continued, “Show me your practice. Or are you just pure books?”

"I stood Haiba insulting me and my house in my own face during an entire dinner, Kuroo-san. I will need more provocation than that.”

Akaashi knew the Slytherin was an expert in provoking others when he intended it, and for the same reason he hadn’t fallen against his words as anyone had probably done. But Kuroo still kept smiling, since he knew that if his idea wasn't working, Akaashi wouldn't even have answered him with those words.

"The night when Bokuto appeared at the doors of my common room and you sat in the hallway. The night of the same day in which the Amortentia’s incident happened.” Kuroo began to say, and knew that he hadn’t lost any of his provocative strategies when Akaashi remained more serious than before once he heard his words. “I knew, and you knew that I knew, you were pretending to be under the effects of the potion when in fact you weren’t. And yet, I didn't say anything to Bokuto. I wonder, what would have happened if I had told Bokuto that you weren't really faking it, and that actually, you agreed to sleep with him simply because you wanted to?”

Akaashi held his wand tighter as he began to walk slowly toward him, and his facial features remained even more severe when the smile on Kuroo's face only increased in size. "You would have been the same as Bokuto-san, forcing me to tell the truth." He expressed, and at the same time that Kuroo lost his smile, Akaashi pointed at him with his wand. “Colloshoo!” He exclaimed.

A silver shield covered Kuroo when he summoned it at the same time that he felt he couldn’t move from his place, since Akaashi had made his feet stay glued to the ground, and he stopped hiding behind it just when Akaashi appeared in front of him.

"Everte Statum!"

“Expulso!”

Kuroo lost his balance and ended up falling on the platform, the silver shield disappearing, while Akaashi was pushed sharply through the air until he finished on the other side of the platform.

"Smart, for your first spell to be one that immobilized me," Kuroo said, resting his palms on the platform to get up, and remained seated. “But never forget that the most important thing is the wand.” He had diminished the effects of the Ravenclaw’s second spell after holding a shield, which had made him lose his balance anyway.

On the other side of the platform, Akaashi made a face of disgust after having been thrown into the air. He had made Kuroo fall too, but the Slytherin's spell had been more potent than his. He rested one of his forearms as well as the palm of his hand with which he held the wand, to take off part of his body from the platform, and released a breath of air at the same time he observed the other on the other side of the platform.

"I told you," Kuroo continued, “This is a duel. Don't be nice with me.” He expressed, since he knew the Ravenclaw was capable of making more complicated and complex spells than the two he had performed.

Akaashi watched him, repeating the actions inside his head. His first spell had gotten Kuroo to remain distracted after his feet staying glued to the ground, but the Slytherin had been quick to react and form a shield before he could stun him.

"Fine." Akashi pointed at him with his wand. Kuroo set out to speak as soon as he spotted him with his wand raised, but arched an eyebrow when he only managed to utter a strange sound because his tongue remained attached to his palate, and then watched the Ravenclaw being completely indignant. “Sometimes, you are a pain in the ass, Kuroo-san." Akaashi said after performing the Mimble Wimble spell. "And with sometimes, I mean always.” He added, and after making a turn with his wand, a pumpkin wrapped around Kuroo's head.

He observed the Slytherin moving his head from side to side, and he pushed himself with the palms of his hands to subsequently stand and move his wand in a vertical line. Kuroo pointed at his own self with his wand and the pumpkin disappeared from around his head.

"You are passive aggressive," Kuroo managed to say once he was released from Akaashi’s spells, whom he sighted watching him seriously as well as standing. He also got up, and raised an eyebrow. “And I don't like it.” He said, pointing at him with his wand. “Lacarnum Inflamarae!”

A small ball of flame shot out of the tip of his wand, but as soon as it was about to reverberate against Akaashi, it seemed to disappear just a centimeter from him after it seemed to collide with an invisible wall of protection. Akaashi didn't even blink at the fire, and Kuroo allowed an intriguing smile to appear on his face.

"Protego while I was distracted?" He asked him, “I didn't have you as the person who hides behind spells, Akaashi.” He started to walk towards him.

The Ravenclaw again made a vertical line with his wand to allow the protection spell to disappear, and after making a large turn with his wand, the flames of the fire of the four pedestals in the corners that kept the place  illuminated, gathered in his wand to later be shot towards Kuroo.

“Glacius!”

Frosty gusts shot out from Kuroo's wand, which froze the fire directed at him to get them to remain trapped inside the ice structures he had created, but that were redirected and sent to the room’s windows by Akaashi, destroying the glass and breaking the ice structures into several pieces, making them be face to face again, accompanied by the cold of the night.

“Expulso!”

“Bombarda!”

On that occasion, Kuroo was the one to be sent through the air but to finish on the ground, while Akaashi jumped from the other side of the platform when it was destroyed by Kuroo’s spell. The Slytherin tensed his back when it supported his body’s weight. "Karma in its best form," He uttered to himself before he joined forces to pull himself up and remain seated, watching the side of the platform that had been destroyed.

On the other side of it, Akaashi fell next to the ice blocks that had remained next to the destroyed glass of the windows. He noticed that one of them had torn part of his sweater near his arm, and he intersposed his gaze between his wand and the blocks of ice.

Kuroo chose to get up, although suddenly he had to duck when a huge piece of ice was sent over his head, and after rising again, he observed that all the ice blocks had been tripled in size by Akaashi, who had also got up. They watched each other from opposite sides of the platform, and raised their wands at the same time.

“Bombarda!” Kuroo managed to make the second block of ice sent against him turn into small squares when his spell clashed with the same, and he began to dodge as well as exploit the same ones that kept heading in his direction, until he slipped with the water that had begun to part of them, and he formed an ascending vertical line with his wand as soon as he fell to the ground.

Three huge blocks of ice hit the invisible wall he had formed in front of him to prevent them from going against him, and he still felt the icy breeze that managed to pierce his spell as a puff of smoke left his lips due to the cold sensation.

Akaashi climbed onto the platform, and took a deep breath to balance all the effort that had led him to levitate all the ice blocks he had sent against him, and which at that time remained scattered around Kuroo in the form of different sizes.

"Who is the one hiding behind spells now?" He expressed.

Kuroo let go the ghost of a laugh before removing the invisible barrier in front of him, but he didn't hesitate to take his wand as soon as Akaashi pointed at him with his. A gust of spiral wind left the tip of the Ravenclaw's wand, and although Kuroo knew for sure that his hairstyle had been ruined, he had a minimal chance when he threw one of the ice blocks at Akaashi since he had a second to perform it, and then took the opportunity to get up and copy his spell, both sending strong gusts of wind against each other.

Kuroo placed one of his hands in front of his face so he didn’t have to close his eyes after not being able to open them by the wind, while Akaashi had to take a step back when the force of the bursts began to throw him back. He knew that if he continued like that, he would fall off the platform and Kuroo would take that action to prevail, so he didn’t doubt to raise his wand and make the wind gusts end up being sent against the roof, which only made it broke to then a part of it fell on them.

Akaashi jumped off the platform for a block to not fall on top of him as Kuroo threw himself away to not be crushed by another, and suddenly they were engulfed in a layer of smoke when the pieces hit the ground and they were surrounded by debris and dust.

Kuroo coughed at the same time that he seemed to scare flies around him after trying to get rid of the dust around him, and let out a breath of air when he learned that perhaps he had underestimated the effects of the duel between them. He rested one of his hands on one of the blocks to get up, and looked around. There were blocks of different sizes, and it was only enough to look up to know that he would have to enunciate repair spells several times so that the room remained as usual, until suddenly he released his wand at the same time he began to jump in one leg when when he felt something painful coming from the other.

“Auch! Auch!” He wrinkled his nose, although his expression was quickly dominated by confusion when he noticed that part of his uniform’s pants had been torn, and that on his skin the mark of extremely square and wide teeth seemed to be found, until he stopped seeing himself to be perplexed when he saw movement around him and visualized a small piece of roof barking at him.

The dust in the air around him began to disperse, and he looked up to see Akaashi standing not so far from him, as well as with several roof blocks that seemed to be alive after having mouths and teeth equal to those Kuroo had visualized on his leg.

"You made a piece of roof bite me!" The Slytherin complained.

"You told me not to be nice with you, Kuroo-san." Akaashi expressed, who after having dodged the pieces of the roof over him, hadn’t hesitated to take his wand to make several of those seem to become animals made of stone. “I just followed your advice.” He said, and pointed at him with his wand. “Accio wand.” He articulated, and Kuroo's wand ended in his other hand. “I never forgot the importance of a wand.”

Kuroo sat in one of the blocks at the same time that the rubble around him became lifeless rocks again, and after releasing a breath of air, he stared at Akaashi.

"I won't deny it, you're good with spells." He said, although at no time had he had doubts about the same. “But do you know what’s the difference between you and me?” He asked getting up, “I’m still a year older than you.”

Kuroo extended his arm towards him and suddenly one of the wands left Akaashi's hands until it flew towards him and he caught it.

"That's mine." Akaashi uttered.

"Believe me, I know." Kuroo said, finding it strange to hold someone else's wand. “Will we finish or you think you can handle my wand?” He asked, his distinctive provocation being evident and intact in his words.

The fact that Akaashi took his wand as if it were his own was the response he got.

The two pointed at each other with the other’s wand, but as advanced as Akaashi could be or for more specializations that Kuroo had received, laws were still laws regardless of whether they were magical or not, so repeating the same spell that the two had performed last time, only made them turned upside down, and instead of moving away from each other, the gusts of wind led them to collide.

Both felt that the wands tugged at them, even if instead of finishing on the floor, Akaashi felt something soft under him, and after opening his eyes, he realized that he had finished with half of his body on Kuroo's, who after trying to use Akaashi’s wand, had only got it to refuse to serve him, and ended up making him fall.

The wands had separated from them, and once Kuroo moved a small piece of roof that had been left under him to finally rest his back on the floor, he focused on the boy who had ended up on top of him, who was watching him breathing in the same way he did, recovering from all the spells they had cast as well as received. Their uniforms were completely ruined and anyone who saw them would probably suggest that they had been running through the Forbidden Forest.

Kuroo removed a small ball of dirt from Akaashi's lock while the Ravenclaw’s hands continued to remain on his chest.

"You know, your vice-captain," Kuroo began, still trying to catch his breath, “He is the same as me and can do spells without a wand, I know he did one against Kyoutani.” He expressed, since he had learned that Ennoshita had caused that player of his team to pass out without pointing his wand at him. “But as much as you two are good, you still lack the classes and specializations that only we seventh-year students have.”

Akaashi watched him. He had never ceased to know that Kuroo was receiving a spell specialization and therefore didn’t doubt that he was strategic at defending or performing them.

“You won. I lost.” He agreed, still staring at him. “I'm leaving.” He added, and from one moment to the next, he separated from him. He bent down to take his wand and then headed for the door being careful to avoid all the rubble.

“Akaashi." Kuroo inquired indignantly at his reaction, and also got up quickly. “Don't accept defeat, I didn't win.” He added immediately, since he would have considered himself victorious in case he had been the one to remain free of any effect, but Akaashi had managed to take his wand away, and in the end they both had lost them.

"I can accept when I lose." Akaashi said, turning to look at him. “That's why I will specialize in potions.”

"Akaashi." Kuroo again expressed, frustrated.

He didn’t believe the Ravenclaw's words were true, not only because he hadn’t lost and because although he was good at potions, that didn’t imply he was bad with spells, since he had just confirmed the same. But also because if Akaashi left like that from that place, it implied that in the end, the duel hadn’t been useful at all.

“What?” Akaashi asked, seeming to be irritated.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

"I want to know if you feel better after this."

“After this?” The annoyance was evident in Akaashi's voice. “To suggest in making a duel to be able to release myself? Did you think that casting spells with you would make me feel any better?” He asked, letting Kuroo know that from the first moment he had known the intentions behind his words and actions.

Akaashi had already spoken with Ennoshita, and even Tsukishima had approached him to speak to him, and after both conversations hadn’t served to erase all his frustrations but to diminish them, he had believed that it would do him good to agree to make a duel with Kuroo, since at no time had he doubted that he wanted both to cast spells for him to try to release his feelings that way.

“Do you?” Kuroo asked despite his words. “Do you feel any better?”

He had wanted Akaashi to accept the duel between them because he knew exactly how he felt, since he was completely familiar with the idea of carrying too many emotions, feeling that he was completely compressed, and that at any moment he would explode, since all of that was what caused Kenma to stay away from him, that his quidditch team wasn’t the best. He knew what it was like to feel oppressed and not be able to do anything about it, and he hadn’t wanted Akaashi to feel the same because he knew it hurt.

Akaashi watched him with a slight frown.

“Kind of.” He decided to answer, because finally, thanks to all the spells cast and received, his muscles had chosen to make him move quickly, to dodge spells or cast the same, and therefore, they had ceased to remain completely rigid like every time he thought of Bokuto. “Why do you care so much for me?” He asked him.

"You are my best friend’s love."

Maybe Kuroo had also suggested for them to have a duel for him to free himself from his own frustrations, but his initial plan had been and continued to be to try to relax Akaashi so that he later wouldn’t feel so tense or act in the way he had been doing since he had distanced himself from Bokuto. He wanted Bokuto to smile again and be the same as always, and he knew that he would only succeed in doing it if the boy in front of him chose to stop reminding his own mind and body that he should react differently each time he thought of Bokuto.

Kuroo followed him with his eyes when instead of leaving, Akaashi chose to stop staying near the door to head towards him and end up facing him. His gaze had ceased to be completely serious as his facial features finally weren't completely tense.

“You are also my best friend’s love.”

Kuroo remained completely dumbfounded.

If Akaashi had spoken those words with the same security he had pronounced his, then that meant that despite all the problems in between, despite all the distance between them, both physical and emotional, and the tears shed and the pain felt, then all wasn’t lost with Kenma. It meant that he still had a chance, that he still had an opportunity for everything not to end.

But despite the words he had just heard, at that moment the person before him was the important one.

"Talk with Bokuto." He asked him.

Maybe he had managed to get Akaashi to release some of the stiffness of his body after moving in the duel they had had, but Akaashi had the final decision.

"If I see you near Kenma, you will see me using other spells." He heard the Ravenclaw said, because although Akaashi had assured him that he still had a chance with Kenma, that didn’t take away that previously, and at that time, he had told him to stay away from Kenma so that he could think clearly.

"I agreed to wait." Kuroo assured him along with a small laugh. “Trust me a little.”

Akaashi held the ghost of a smile on his face, and chose to go to the door and then allow him to see the profile of his face. "I trust you a little." He expressed, since in case he didn't trust Kuroo at all, he wouldn’t only have accepted the duel with him, but also didn’t choose to tell him not to give up on Kenma, although at no point he had thought he would. “Thank you.”

Kuroo raised both eyebrows, and held a sideways smile on his face, because even if Akaashi's voice had been low, he had been able to hear him perfectly.

“Have my ears betrayed me or I heard the only Akaashi Keiji thanking me for challenging him to have a duel?”

Akaashi rolled his eyes, but still allowed a small smile to appear on his face.

“So many explotions have left you without audition.”

"Sure, Ravenclaw."

Kuroo kept smiling, as he finally proved that causing Akaashi to release what he felt through movements seemed to have served to at least not remain totally rigid. And the Ravenclaw knew the same thing, since having had to dodge spells as well as thinking them to cast them, had made him momentarily forget about Bokuto, although at the same time it had become clear to him that he had to think about him to to be able to agree with his own self.

Akaashi watched Kuroo for a second, thinking that if the Slytherin had made the effort to duel against him as long as he could realize that unless he spoke with Bokuto again, his body would remain equally stiff; then perhaps it was necessary for him to finally decide to approach Bokuto so that everyone around him would stop being worried, and he himself, saddened and frustrated. With his fingers he brushed the skin of his neck that was still injured after the quidditch’s game, but that had slowly stopped burning thanks to the herbs Bokuto had give him, and then returned to watch Kuroo, believing that certainly his actions had helped him to think.

"Good night, Slytherin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, I thought about making them kiss.
> 
> Next chapter: Bokuto gets an opportunity.


	71. Chapter 71

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A single scene, a miracle

Bokuto was aware he had to be in the Quidditch field, commanding the practice for his team as the game against Gryffindor would take place in just a few days, but even though his roommates had tried to convince him to go with them considering that he was the captain, he didn't feel motivated enough, not even to accept being on his broom and practicing the sport he liked best. He was tired because not being able to sleep as he always did, was finally making his body face the consequences of his sleepless nights, and he didn't feel capable to lead a practice when he couldn't even force himself to feel the motivation to play quidditch.

He didn't like staying in his room because being on his bed just reminded him that Akaashi didn't want to sleep by his side anymore, and he had thought that being in the owlery would make him better, but even if it felt a little less worse than being in his room, remembering that place had been where he had met Akaashi for the first time, only made him feel the same emptiness, although he believed he wouldn’t be able to get Akaashi out of his mind no matter in what part of the castle he was. The owlery had always been his favorite place since he loved being accompanied by owls, but at that time, even being there didn’t allow him to feel better.

He was with his arms on the railing and watching the sunset, every now and then confirming that his team was practicing since he heard how they celebrated when someone surely committed a point even if it was only a training. The situation with Akaashi had even taken away his desire to play quidditch, since he knew that trying to lead a practice with the Ravenclaw in his head wouldn’t help, and for the same reason he continued to form a pout with his lips when he heard that someone arrived at the owlery.

"Konoha, I already told you, I don't want to go to practice." Bokuto expressed.

He understood that his best friend and vice-captain wanted him to be in practice, but he thought he had made it clear that he didn’t consider himself capable of leading them that day and therefore left him in charge. But he frowned faintly since he was sure that Konoha wouldn’t have hesitated to throw his wand or broom at his head instead of remaining silent, so he turned around, only to remain completely still and with his eyes wide open when the one he sighted wasn’t his roommate, but Akaashi.

And after rubbing his eyes for thinking he was dreaming since he wouldn’t consider it strange after all the times he had imagined Akaashi approaching him, he realized that he was really in the same place as him, with his head down and his eyes placed on the floor, as well as playing with his fingers. Bokuto wasn’t able to take his eyes off him, and he swallowed when Akaashi started walking towards him to stay at a shorter distance from him, although that made him feel his heart stop, and not only because Akaashi had got closer, but because he recognized the subtle scrapes that outlined his eyes after having scrubbed his cheeks from so much crying and trying futilely to stop his tears, since he had done the same thing for several days in a row, and he even wore them on his own face because he had been crying until a while ago. So he knew that Akaashi had too.

He opened his mouth until the sudden image of Akaashi moving away from him as he had done on the wooden bridge, stopped him from speaking. He was afraid that saying a word would make the Ravenclaw observe him in the same frustrated way in which he had done it, but he didn’t hesitate to cast those thoughts elsewhere, since unlike the previous time, at that moment Akaashi had chosen to be in the same place as him, and even close to him.

"Akaashi, were you crying?" He asked him.

He had never seen him cry. Since they had met in Akaashi’s first year at Hogwarts, he had never seen him cry. There had been times when he had seen him about to do it like when he had met him in the same place where they were at that time, but he had never seen Akaashi cry, with tears in his eyes and trying to make them disappear with the back of his hand or some hoodie’s sleeve.

Having mentioned Akaashi’s name in that melancholic manner left a bitter taste on Bokuto's palate, as well as the fact that Akaashi nodded at his question caused him a bad feeling. He didn’t understand why, just like him, Akaashi had been crying, although he didn’t like to realize that he hadn’t been for him to be able to comfort him as he would have liked, understanding that if he hadn’t been for him, it had been because Akaashi hadn’t want him to, since he didn't want him in his life, and because he didn't need him. But as much as Akaashi had made it clear that he wanted him away from him, he would always try to make him feel okay, so he kept talking.

"I was crying too," He added to try to make him feel better.

But his words only had the opposite effect, since as soon as he heard him, Akaashi bit his lower lip hard enough to believe that it would begin to bleed, and he felt his stomach shrink as his sight became cloudy. He knew it was his fault that Bokuto had been crying, but he was a masochist.

“You were crying for me?” Akaashi asked in his broken voice. A knot appeared in Bokuto's throat when he heard his worn tone of voice, just as the tightness in Akaashi's chest increased when from the corner of his eyes, he saw Bokuto nodding at his question. "I'm sorry."

He had done it. He had made Bokuto cry for him.

"I'm sorry too," Bokuto didn't hesitate to say immediately. "I don’t like you to cry.”

Bokuto just wanted to surround him with his arms and be able to give him all the love Akaashi deserved, because he didn't want him to cry or feel sad, but he forced himself not to move from his place since Akaashi had expressed that he didn't love him and therefore didn't need him to feel good.

"Akaashi, why are you here?" He asked him.

Akaashi understood why he asked him that question, since the only thing he had been doing lately had been to stay away from him, and he knew that he could only answer that question sincerely.

“Because I can't stop crying, and I just stopped doing it since I thought of seeing you.” He replied, since after thinking about his conversations with Ennoshita and Tsukishima, and in the duel he had had last night with Kuroo, he had concluded that he didn’t want to continue feeling that way. He didn’t want to stay away from Bokuto when doing it hurt him, because although it was true that he kept thinking about the reason he had left him in the first place, he wasn’t able to stop reviewing all the moments they had spent together.

Bokuto felt his heart skip a beat when he heard him say he had thought of him.

“You were thinking about me?” Akaashi nodded at his question, but instead of rejoicing with his answer, Bokuto continued to stare at him. “You cried for thinking about me?”

Bokuto's eyes were again accompanied by a crystalline layer as soon as Akaashi again answered his question with a positive nod. He hated to know that Akaashi had been crying and that he hadn't been able to do anything about it, and he hated himself when he turned out to be the reason he was sad, so he wasn’t able to contain his own self and began to cry because he didn't like to hurt him, let alone be the cause of his sadness, and Akaashi finally looked up when he heard him.

He had always gotten used to seeing Bokuto appear next to him with a cheerful smile on his face, so seeing him in the opposite way only made him not remember how to smile either. "Please don’t cry." He asked him, barely being able to speak.

Bokuto's distress worsened when he recognized the melancholy in that blue eyes that didn't seen him again in the way he liked and what used to, with a smile hidden between them, with all the emotions showing in the blue of his irises, in the greenish flash that appeared when they were illuminated in the right way, or in the grayish tint that only showed on certain occasions.

"I don't like you to cry because of me," Bokuto said, without being able to believe that Akaashi was so close to him, speaking to him instead of rejecting him, acknowledging his existence instead of ignoring him, looking at him, allowing their eyes to once again met, although on that occasion, with sadness and frustration in between.

"I don't like you to cry because of me either."

“Then why did you tell me you don’t love me?”

Akaashi felt that the most deadliest and lethal spell was cast in the center of his heart, that an oppression expanded throughout his chest once he finally heard all the damage he had caused with just four words that had been the worst lie that he had ever pronounced. A phrase that had made Bokuto not smile as usual or feel happy as he always did, replace his lively attitude with a completely opposite one, and that his boundless energy would be completely dissolved. And just thinking of Bokuto crying for everything he had done, made his stomach shrink even more.

"You broke my heart, Akaashi." Bokuto expressed with tears running down his cheeks.

Akaashi couldn't tolerate it anymore, and his body finally gave in to all those words that made him realize that it was only his fault that Bokuto was completely frustrated, and slid with his back against the column until he sat down and hugged his knees to hide his head between, again allowing tears to decorate his face in the same way they did on Bokuto's face. He had hurt him when all he had always wanted to do was show him how much he loved him. Because he had lied when he told him that he didn’t love him, because expressing that lie had caused his own heart to ache, when in fact his pulse accelerated for the opposite reason.

He wasn't able to control the tears that began to leave his eyes without any obstacle, and he felt completely vulnerable when Bokuto sat in front of him, but the guilt he felt wasn't enough to prevent him from raising his sight again, just to get a tide of feelings to attack him when he glimpsed the sadness in that amber gaze that had always shone for and by him.

“I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. I just wanted the best for you, and I still want the same thing." Akaashi felt each word hurt his throat from all the effort he had to make to pronounce them, as he felt he couldn't breathe because his chest wouldn't let him, and tears kept sliding down his cheeks.

“Then why aren't you with me? You are the best for me.”

Akaashi bit his lower lip, wanting to believe him. Both Ennoshita, Tsukishima, and Kuroo had made him rethink his actions, about the way he had stayed away and the way he should begin to act to stop feeling that each day was slower and more difficult to pass, because he needed to stop feeling that he was living with a void that only the person who at that moment was next to him, could fill. But he hadn’t expected that after gathering enough courage to approach him, he would realize that he himself was the reason of why Bokuto hadn’t been smiiling or feeling good about himself.

“I'm not the best for you, understand it. I made you cry, so I'm not.”

“I don't care how much you hurt me. I will always think that you are the one for me. ”

Bokuto didn’t plan to waste the opportunity Akaashi had just given them both after approaching him, since he needed to tell him everything he meant to him, everything his presence caused him. But Akaashi was just as determined to refuse to be loved, to refuse to accept that Bokuto was only interested in him. He felt guilty for making him cry, and he continued to feel inadequate.

“I can’t be with you, Bokuto. I can't be the one you need. I can’t be someone who always laughs at your jokes or who can tell you the indicated words when you're sad." He expressed, not even realizing the lack of honorific.

But what he had to understand, was that Bokuto's feelings towards him were stronger than his refusal to be loved by him, and Bokuto looked down, frustrated and angry at himself because he knew that Akaashi's words were only due to his mistake. He had allowed a bad decision to get Akaashi away from him completely, so he looked up again, predisposed to replace his mistake with nothing but the truth.

"Forgive me, Akaashi. Please forgive me.” He begged, and as soon as Akaashi looked at him, Bokuto lowered his eyes again because he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep talking if he allowed their eyes to meet. “I'm sorry for having wanted you to take the potion, I'm sorry for making you believe that you're not the person I always want by my side. I don't need someone who laughs at my jokes or someone who knows what to tell me when I'm sad. I just need you to be by my side to be able to look at you when I make jokes that only the two of us will understand while the rest doesn't know what I’m talking about, and that you are the one who will embrace me without needing to say something when I'm sad, because you are the only one that can make me happy.” He expressed, being able to only utter everything he had said since an error had taken Akaashi away from him. “I don't need anyone else, Akaashi. The only one I need is you." He assured him, and he let out a breath before looking up.

“Why don’t you give up with me?” Akaashi asked him.

“Because you don't give up with me either.”

"I only hurt you, I want you to surrender."

“I could never give up on you. And I never will. I love you. ”

Akaashi bit his lower lip as soon as he heard him.

There were only three words. But they were so different from the four he had transformed into a lie.

Those caused his heart to be altered and his cheeks had a slight but noticeable pink hue, that even exceeded the color of the marks he had left on his own face after trying to eliminate tears countless times. Those words made all the sadness disappear from his body, and feel complete.

"I'm sorry I said that I don't love you."

Bokuto's amber gaze regained its characteristic glow as soon as he heard his words. During the night he hadn’t been able to sleep because he had felt alone, only accompanied by the emptiness that Akaashi had left him, and during the day he hadn’t been smiling, since every time he saw Akaashi, he remembered that he had assured him that he didn’t love him.

All he had wanted was to know that Akaashi had lied to him, that he really did correspond to his feelings, that he missed him and that he didn’t want to stay away from him. That among them nothing was over because that wasn’t an option, because being separated didn’t work and they didn’t act the way they were used to. He had wanted to feel that his heart was jumping with joy again because Akaashi would continue to want to be with him. He had only wanted to get up in the middle of the night to see that Akaashi was still hugging him because he enjoyed being at his side, because his company made him feel comfortable and safe. He wanted to feel loved instead of rejected, and Akaashi was the only one who could do it, he was the only one who could change his mood as well as transform his bad day into a good one, his uneasiness into extreme calm.

“By saying I don't love you, I told the biggest lie.”

Akaashi had lowered his gaze to observe his own knees, so he didn’t have the opportunity to see how after his words, Bokuto's hair seemed to regain its usual shape, just as his gaze stopped being cloudy and his expression of affliction was removed from his face.

Bokuto knew he had been wrong in trying to get him to take some potion to be honest, when in fact Akaashi had always been extremely honest. The shared kisses, the nights in the same bed, the sudden hugs. The signs had always been clear, and he understood that his feelings had always been reciprocal. He had allowed his own insecurities to overcome him when in fact Akaashi was the one who made them disappear, not attack him.

A smile found its way into Bokuto's face.

He smiled. He smiled because Akaashi, who was able to change his moods, to get him to hold the most cheerful expression, or cry without ceasing while he had a grimace of grief on his face, once again stood with him, keeping him company instead of moving away, assuring him in his own and unique way that instead of continuing to impose distance between them, he only wanted the opposite, allowing once again, the gold and blue of their eyes to form the most perfect balance instead of the more opposite union when Akaashi rested his eyes on him.

"I love you too." Bokuto assured him.

It had been four words expressed, and not only three.

Because after all the shared moments and all the days and nights separated, all the hugs and the rejection given, the kisses placed in the different parts of their bodies and the distance between their hearts, the shared laughter and the expressions of sadness, the looks full of meaning and the avoid observing each other, the caresses given and the ignorance, the adequate emotions and the empty feelings; both had understood the way they worked, the balance they created, and the confidence they had.

Akaashi's face was finally accompanied by a smile, the gesture he had been able to hold because he didn't need to be like everyone else, because he didn't need to shed tears, smile with easiness, or frown, so that a person could understand all his emotions because he knew him, and because he trusted him.

Bokuto remained still for a few seconds, but then, slowly, as if afraid to relive being rejected again, he approached his hand to Akaashi's face to rest it on his cheek, and his smile only increased when he wasn’t rejected, but assured when Akaashi leaned into the touch, looking for all the emotions that the physical contact between them caused. His gaze no longer contained accumulated tears, and Bokuto decided to rest his other hand on his other cheek to caress the area under his eyes that had equal marks to those under his own.

Akaashi didn't mind knowing that the heat he felt reborn from his heart spread throughout his body to finally appear in the form of a slightly reddish hue on his cheeks.

"I don't deserve you." He said, looking at Bokuto.

“And I don’t deserve you either. How is it possible that you are so perfect and you can't notice it? ”

"I'm not perfect."

"You are to me.”

“I will never understand why me. Why of all, you choose me. ”

“For the same reason that you choose me.”

Akaashi finally understood. They were lucky to feel the same for each other, to fall in love with each other's faults and only seek their virtues when they were alone. They were fortunate enough to be able to say that they loved each other and that they only felt complete when they were together. The two needed each other because they couldn’t be alone on their own, because staying apart had broken the other's heart and made them despair of not feeling enough. The desired each other with madness because being apart made them feel empty and without reason to smile. They were meant to be side by side because separated they weren’t perfect, but together they could be.

"I trust you." Bokuto expressed.

Akaashi couldn’t believe how he had come to think that he could make the attempt to live without him. That he could spend his days without Bokuto calling him all the time and expressing his name in the way that only he did, to get him to pay attention and rest all his interest in him, that he could get used to the silence that the lack of his exclamatory words left, that he could be able to reconcile sleep without him at his side and getting up the next day with the absence of a cheerful amber gaze that only focused on him and no one else, that had only lost as well as regained its brightness for him.

"I trust you." Akaashi assured him.

The relationship between them would work in case they fully trusted each other, in case they decided to rest their trust in the gestures, actions, and decisions of the other as well as not doubting the other. They would work if they learned to understand each other without the need for words, without being equal to the others around them, and without allowing their insecurities to push them away again.

Bokuto lowered his eyes to Akaashi's neck, closely visualizing the scrape that covered one of his sides and that he had gained during the quidditch match, and that seemed to have improved, which got him to look back at him, allowing him to understand that Akaashi had been using the herbs he had given him. He smiled for the same reason, and lowered his hands to the nape of his neck to make him a light caress with his fingers, getting Akaashi to close his eyes for a few seconds after enjoying that conformity and tranquility that during all those days and nights in no moment he had stopped missing.

Akaashi again opened his eyes at the same time as Bokuto raised one of his hands to trace his lower lip with his thumb, which softness helped him remember the perfect way their mouths used to be coupled, the way the caresses between them accompanied the movement of their lips, and their hearts beat for all the sensations that being together caused them. And he continued to look at Akaashi, knowing that never again he would believed that he needed words to feel safe, because as long as Akaashi allowed their eyes to continue to meet, then he would never have no more doubts.

He loved every inch of his skin as well as resting kisses on every part of his body, being able to caress it with his hands, and tracing different patterns with his fingers. But the first reason of why he had fallen in love with Akaashi had been his eyes. He had allowed his insecurities to attack him when in reality the solution had always been those two blue irises that were often dotted with other colors. Akaashi's eyes were able to make him feel safe, to assure him that the caresses between them were fine, and even to have made him believe a lie. Akaashi's eyes had always been the answer he needed, the certainty that reassured him, and for that very reason, he knew the answer to his question without the need for either of them to speak.

Akaashi stopped keeping his legs next to his chest at the same time that Bokuto rested his hand on his cheek, and removed any trace of distance that had remained between them, after resting his lips on his.

It was an extremely tender and gentle kiss, but also a desperate and comforting one because their bodies had become accustomed to reacting positively when their mouths came together and their skins brushed. Akaashi instinctively rested his hands on Bokuto's cheeks and their tongues soon remembered looking for each other. No separate time prevented their lips from getting used to savoring just as no remoteness prohibited the right surge of emotions from traveling through their bodies when they finally met again. Staying away from each other only made each other's feelings resurface with more strength, more need, and more desesperation.

They had missed each other too much, they hadn’t liked it, and they didn’t want to try again what it was to feel empty, misunderstood, and lost. But soon the desire that had begun to consume them both, as well as all the emotions with which they were already familiar, reached its sudden end when the wave of feelings spread through all their bodies was replaced by surprise when they both felt something on them, and they separated to laugh after visualizing that Bokuto’s owl had fallen between them as well as hit Akaashi’s owl in the middle and therefore having caused the same to bump into their knees, although it got up by itself, and again Bokuto and Akaashi laughed when it seemed to want to bother Bokuto’s with its beak as revenge.

“Stop it.” Akaashi took his owl to make it stop trying to bite Bokuto’s, and his pet watched him as if it was asking him to release it, although it seemed to stop doing it as soon as Akaashi seriously observed it with both eyebrows raised.

"Sorry," Bokuto expressed between laughs at the same time that his owl climbed on his arm, and then remained on his shoulder, and Akaashi gave an inevitable chuckle when he noticed no difference between Bokuto and his owl.

He extended his arm to caress his cheek, but he rested his attention on the owl when that cooed, and Akaashi caressed it on its head.

"Can you please, please sleep by my side today?" Bokuto asked him.

Akaashi approached him, and a kiss was his answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Some friendships deepen in the least expected way, at the least expected moment.


	72. Chapter 72

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there's a panic attack.

Yahaba kept biting the inner side of his lower lip over and over again. He felt extremely impatient, being seated on the edge of his bed while he forced himself to play with his fingers, believing that otherwise he would dig his own nails into the palms of his hands. He needed to released everything but felt he didn’t have enough energy to do so, and he was grateful he hadn’t thrown his pillow away since at that moment he decided to use it to sink his head into it after lying on his bed.

Why did the same thing always happen to him?

How many times would his heart be broken?

He closed his eyes because he didn’t want to cry, being already tired of crying.

He knew he could only be angry with himself, again believing in the past as well as forgetting the same, and to allow his own self to be deluded with the idea that that time would be different, was only his fault. Once again his heart had failed him and his thoughts had decided not to leave him alone since he had gotten up in the morning, reminding him that he was stupid for getting excited with the idea that people could be trusted, that it was never a mistake to trust again, and that the future could always be promising; as well as his feelings had decided to not let him forget that having a heart was sometimes not so satisfying, that prioritizing his emotions before his reasoning wasn’t a good idea, and that getting hurt was what he had to get used to.

But Yahaba had believed. He had agreed to give another chance.

And once again, he was the one who ended up hurt the most.

He crossed his arms under his pillow and only rested his right cheek on it instead of his face, needing to breathe even though he felt he couldn’t. The frustration, the anger, the shame. Everything accumulated in his body through a knot in his throat, a crush on his chest, and a frown on his face. He formed a line with his lips because he didn’t want to start screaming or to run out of voice in the process, his heart being completely fragmented.

Why it always had to be him?

Why was it always he who trusted to only end up hurt?

He was angry with himself because he simply couldn’t believe how stupid he had been. He was a complete idiot for having believed that Kyoutan’s comeback to his life meant that he would stay forever, when all that day he had verified that reality was different, and that promises meant absolutely nothing for Kyoutani.

It had been his fault to believe that everything would be solved once the tension between them disappeared to be replaced by the desire that had always remained between them, to believe that what had begun to become an habit again would become a daily routine, that the caresses between them carried printed gestures of love and affection, that all the problems between the two had been eliminated, and that Kyoutani loved him and cared for him as much as he did.

But he had been wrong, and again it was his heart the one that paid for his mistake.

Maybe he would have let it go if it had been another day, but it was his birthday.

And he hadn’t seen Kyoutani during the entire day. Not even when he had gotten up because he was already absent when he had opened his eyes, starting his day badly after waiting for him to greet him in a loving way. He didn’t meet him at any time, and he couldn’t even be happy about his birthday, only being sad and downcast, because with the only person who he wanted to spend it with, seemed to have returned to his habits of disappearing and pretending they didn’t know each other.

Yahaba had a serious expression and more people than he thought were afraid of his presence, but what no one knew about him, was the complete insecurity he counted with. Because although he didn’t have problems with his image, he did have them with his inner self. He was exaggeratedly aware that he was extremely vulnerable in his worst moments, and that it was usually his own thoughts what made him see only the negative side and made it impossible for him to reason positively, so he always offered a hard image of himself that could hide his true insecurity. Meeting Futakuchi and becoming his best friend had made him gain more confidence than he had thought, so he had learned that the Sorting Hat hadn’t lied to him by telling him that in Slytherin he would know the indicated people to be able to strengthen themselves.

And the same had happened with Kyoutani, although with much greater depth.

Being by his side made him feel protected and that he was capable of everything, and for the same reason he felt completely lost once Kyoutani disappeared from his life after the house to which they both belonged to couldn’t achieved the victory of the Quidditch tournament the previous year, because while Yahaba had adapted to the team without any problems, Kyoutani had had problems with the majority, especially because he lacked respect for the elders and wasn’t sensitive when it came to pointing out their mistakes and failures, and he hadn’t hesitated to decide to disappear even if they were in the same castle, same house, and same year; instead of staying and facing the consequences the defeat had given them.

Yahaba had become accustomed to rest all his insecurities on him, which explained why Kyoutani was the only person who knew him much more than the others, why he felt completely abandoned and lost once he went from being always by his side to never see him even when he woke up or once the end of the day arrived, and why he had become even more attached to Futakuchi, with whom his friendship only deepened.

And he regained all his security once Kyoutani finally returned with him during the night after the game his house had played against Ravenclaw. He had believed that moment marked a new stage in which he could once again base his trust on him, and in which all his insecurities disappeared only because he had returned to his side as promised that he wouldn’t leave.

But again, like a fool he had fallen for his words.

And therefore, again he remained with a broken heart and his thoughts scolding him.

He needed to feel that he couldn’t breathe and that he couldn’t trust himself to understand that he couldn’t afford to delude himself as soon as he had the chance to hope. It was necessary that he spent all the day of his birthday extremely worried and unable to smile to understand that he couldn’t continue relegating his trust in people when he could never know if they would always be for him or not. It was necessary for Kyoutani to disappear as he had previously done for much longer than just one day, to realize that promises didn’t have the same meaning for all people, and that some, even chose to break them instead of fulfilling them.

He had remained in his room completely alone and only accompanied by his thoughts that seemed to have agreed with his feelings to not leave him alone, since he had opted not to go to dinner because he didn’t feel encouraged. He didn't want to again load Futakuchi with all his emotional problems, so he swallowed and blinked several times, not wanting to cry in front of whoever opened the door to then close it at that time, his entire body tensed once he felt the mattress beside him sink.

“You weren’t sleeping, right?”

He didn’t know what altered him more. Hearing that sweet tone of voice he rarely heard, or feeling Kyoutani's hand on his shoulder.

He frowned and didn’t hesitate to move that part of his body in an outrageous way so that he stopped touching him, which he achieved.

How dared he appear as if he hadn’t disappeared all day?

It didn’t take him long to know the answer to his own question.

Kyoutani played with his feelings because he allowed him, because he was willing to feel loved and then be betrayed, feeling ignored in the day he considered the most important. He gave himself up to pleasure to then be the only one suffering. Kyoutani hadn’t even told him a happy birthday or had searched for him at some point during the day so he could give him a quick kiss or show him that he remembered him even if it was only for five minutes, and he dared appear a few hours before it finished and after he had left him alone since he got up. He was angry, with Kyoutani and with his own self. And he didn’t want to know anything about him.

“And what is it with you now?” Kyoutani added.

The sweet voice had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Yahaba clung even more to his pillow and felt the anger spread throughout his body.

What happened to him?

He was a fool for trusting him and for believing he had become important again in his life. He was stupid for having fallen into the promise he had made after they had spent the night demonstrating the love they felt and how much they had missed. Or at least that's what Yahaba had thought, since he wasn’t sure if he could claim that the moment had meant the same thing to both of them anymore.

His insecurity was eating him.

"Leave me alone," He managed to articulate.

He didn’t want to look at him. He didn’t want to fall in the face of temptation.

He shook his shoulder again when Kyoutani touched him.

He didn’t want him to touch him. He didn’t want him to be close.

Yahaba lived the silence that reigned between them as the worst of the tortures. He was totally tense and being aware that Kyoutani was sitting next to him and watching him didn’t help him to be able to try to relax even a little. He had wanted his company since he had opened his eyes in the morning, but at that moment the anger clouded his sense of reason, and his fractured heart reminded him that he didn’t want to be accompanied by him.

He dug his nails into his pillow when he spoke.

“Don’t you trust me?” Kyoutani asked him.

Trust him?

He didn’t even trust himself.

“I would need all the time in the world to ever trust you again.”

He didn’t know how, but those words left his lips along with a serious tone of voice.

Broken promises. Kyoutani walked away.  And he suffered. The cycle was always the same.

“Then I'll give you all the fucking time you want.”

He recognized the anger in Kyoutani's tone of voice, and although he wasn’t surprised when the mattress returned to normal, his entire body tensed again when he heard the slam of the door. Suddenly he took his head off the pillow and turned to look at the closed door and his empty room.

He had seen that image before. And he had already lived the consequences countless times.

Fury poured from his head to his feet, and before he knew it, frustration and anger made him rise with his pillow in his arms. He could no longer continue to accumulate feelings of exasperation and anger when he thought that it no longer corresponded him to be the one that always turned out to be the abandoned and neglected, and he opened the door of the room to then quickly pass by his side and not stop or look towards behind.

That time, he would be the one to leave. 

* * *

Yahaba knew he was a person who used to depend on others because his thoughts didn’t rest on repeating that he couldn’t achieve anything on his own, and for the same reason he believed that the crossing of sarcastic and annoying comments, and words full of irony and annoyance with Ennoshita, had slowly become a true friendship. Not only because his friendship with Futakuchi had begun to experience some problems because everyone had their own concerns, although that didn’t mean they had stopped having each other, but also because he hadn’t expected the Ravenclaw, who at that moment was in front of him once he opened the door of the room he had been knocking, to become a person with whom he could cross words for something more than to insult themselves, although that continued to be his favorite activity.

With a somewhat somnolent expression, Ennoshita appeared in front of him in blue pajamas on whose t-shirt the drawing of a crow in the center could be spotted. With his half-closed eyes, he continued seeing the boy who had knock the door of his room, awakening him even though he had only gone to bed a few minutes ago and therefore had reached to hear the touches in the room door, unlike Kenma, who was already sleeping because he was one of those people who fell asleep extremely fast and in any place and time; and who stood in front of him with a serious expression, green pajamas dotted with drawings of different leaves patterns of different shades of green, and a pillow between his arms and attached to his chest.

“I think I'm having a nightmare,” Ennoshita said.

After a few seconds without receiving a sarcastic response in return, Ennoshita blinked several times to make sure that Yahaba was really in front of him and that it wasn’t a figment of his imagination that strangely included him standing in the hallway of the bedrooms of his house.

“How did you- How are you here?” He added when he realized that detail.

“I met Suna while I came here. I guess he let me in because we're both beaters in our respective teams." Ennoshita checked that Yahaba was truly in front of him when his voice sounded real enough to dismiss it as an unreal projection of his mind, “And, well, I guess also because his boyfriend is from my own house and a person close to me, and if he hadn’t let me in, he probably would have regretted it after thinking that I would start to fill Osamu's head with bad comments about him just because he wouldn’t let me into his house with him. Although in case I had to answer the riddle I could have done it because I know how to answer riddles.”

It was definitely Yahaba.

Ennoshita let out a yawn.

“Do you always fall asleep early?” Yahaba asked when he saw that gesture.

He had lost track of time after staying in his room and deciding not to go to dinner, but he didn’t think it had been so long since dinner time was over. Or maybe it was already three o'clock in the morning and he hadn’t even known because his anger didn’t leave him no matter how much time elapsed.

"You know what they say, even great minds need to disconnect," Ennoshita answered.

“I never heard that phrase.”

“I know, I just invented it so sleeping a lot can be equal to being smart,” He said along with a sleepy smile.

Perhaps he had spent more time than he had thought and hadn't analyzed his actions with caution and detention, so perhaps it was really too late and he had interrupted his sleep routine only because he was capricious, and because he had problems in his life that he couldn’t solve because he didn’t know how to do it. He pressed the pillow to his chest even more and waited for the upper corner of it to hide the tremor with which his lower lip had begun to count.

He had avoided Futakuchi to prevent him from worrying about him, and in return he had decided to go to Ravenclaw, managing to interrupt Ennoshita's night and let make him stop sleeping only because he had stopped feeling safe in his own room, because he no longer knew where he felt protected because no matter that Kyoutani wasn’t with him at that moment, his own thoughts continued to eat him as well as all the emotions in his body. 

“Forget about this. This was a bad idea," He managed to say before moving away from him.

"Wait." Ennoshita's voice stopped him. “What are you doing here?”

Although their relationship was based on an exchange of ironic chatter, Ennoshita didn’t believe the Slytherin had left his room and his common room, and entered his to appear in front of his room only to wake him up and let that count as some joke. And he knew he turn out to be right when Yahaba turned around to look at him again, and saw an even more serious expression than he used to have, even if he was looking at the ground as if his life depended on it. He hadn’t responded to his first words with another set of more sarcastic words, so he confirmed that something had happened for him to appear in the door of his room, remaining silent instead of enjoy answering with the same nuisance.

Or rather, that someone had done something to him.

Ennoshita frowned.

“It was him, wasn’t he?”

He knew the answer as soon as Yahaba pressed the pillow against his chest even more, but he didn’t wait for Yahaba to remain silent at the same time that he realized he began to breathe deeply as well as in a hidden way to inhale and exhale air through his mouth.

Yahaba had made a big mistake and wasn’t even surprised that the only thing that seemed to work out was to make one mistake after the other. He had thought that appearing in Ravenclaw would be a good idea when in fact, he didn’t really want to make it clear in front of Ennoshita that he wasn’t the sure and sarcastic person he thought he was, he didn’t want him to see that he was full of insecurities and that his emotions were generally what overcame him even if he proved the opposite all the time. But his problem was that he couldn’t control how he felt, so although he wanted to disappear and leave to look for Futakuchi no matter he had escaped from him before, he remained stuck in place when he felt that his arms remained clinging to his pillow and that he couldn’t move as well as that he couldn’t lift his eyesight that had become cloudy at the same time that his body had begun to contract because the air in the Ravenclaw hallway had disappeared.

Again he was experiencing an attack and his best friend wasn’t close to him because he had decided that getting away from him had been better than taking refuge in him as he was used to doing, making him realize he was stupid because he wasn’t able to take logical decisions, which had led him to find himself in front of Ennoshita, tha decision only causing his concern to increase because Ennoshita wouldn’t know what to do with the state he was in and would stop seeing him and thinking about him in the same way he had done so far.

“I am...” Yahaba couldn’t complete his sentence because a knot formed in his throat at the same time the first tear left his eyes, since even though he was worried, the anguish in his chest only increased while his head told him that the anguish he felt was because his heart had once again been betrayed since he had to learn to trust instead of giving away his trust “I'm having..."

"I know, I know." Suddenly Ennoshita's voice interrupted the chain of his thoughts, Yahaba knowing he had approached him not only because his voice sounded more near him, worried althought not alarmed, but also because even if he hadn’t taken his eyes off the floor, he sighted Ennoshita's hands a few inches away from him. “Listen to me. Can I touch you or you don’t want me to do it?”

Why would he want to touch him? Why would he accept him holding him only to make it increasingly clear that he always needed someone to hold him because he couldn’t provide moral support to his own self? But why didn’t he accept that he did? He knew he wanted physical contact, he knew he couldn’t support himself. But he also knew that he didn’t want to be weak, and that he didn’t want to prove to Ennoshita that he was an easy person to break.

“Listen to me. Only to me. Can I touch you or you don’t want me to do it?” Ennoshita repeated.

Although the tears rolling down his cheeks increased, he turned his brown gaze from the ground to rest it on the Ravenclaw's hands because he didn’t even feel able to make a single word since the knot in his throat continued to increase in size as well as the writhing in his stomach. Slowly he saw how Ennoshita's hands approached his arms that clung to the pillow, his grip around it increasing once Ennoshita's hands finally rested on his arms.

“You can listen to me and feel my contact because you can. Because you're breathing so your body is working," Ennoshita assured him, keeping his hands on his arms softly, as if his own skin was a feather that sought to rest on another. “Did you hear me? You are looking at my hands because you can see them, because you are allowing yourself to do that. When you feel that I squeeze with a little force, try to swallow.”

Yahaba looked at his hands, seeing how Ennoshita did a little bit of pressure, but he didn’t even try to swallow because he was sure he couldn’t, because his stomach continued to shrink as his chest closed.

“You are watching me and you are listening to me because you are breathing even if you think that you are not, I am here and you are also here because we are both well. Try again.”

Ennoshita again applied a little force on his arms, Yahaba keeping his eyes on them. He was crying as he could feel the pressure in his arms because he was still standing, because the air continued running in the Ravenclaw corridor in which he didn’t doubt someone had applied a spell in case of not having it because every student that belonged to that house was intelligent and wouldn’t allow the air to lack. He didn’t belong to that house, but the people belonging to it weren’t bad people and wouldn’t make the air lack him simply because he was from Slytherin. He felt that he was running out of air because then it meant he had it, and he managed to swallow.

"You swallowed because it means there's nothing in your throat that prevents you from swallowing, and if there's nothing stopping you from swallowing then it means you can also let the air come and go," Ennoshita said still with his hands resting on his arms, although applying some force. “You're fine, you have air, and if you didn’t have it, you know I'd give it to you because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have someone to bother with my sarcasm.”

Yahaba knew he was right. Ennoshita would never let anything happen to him, since otherwise he would have no one to fight with in an ironic way, nor who to promise his confrontations both inside and outside the quidditch pitch. Yahaba again forced himself to swallow again although Ennoshita's hands hadn’t applied pressure, and closed his eyes.

"The air..." Slowly he moved one of his arms to rest one of his hands in the center of his pillow behind which was his chest, that not preventing Ennoshita to hold him, “It goes from here,” He had never had any illness in his lungs and hadn’t received any hard blow in the Quidditch match, so there was nothing that could prevent them from having air, “Over here," He moved his hand to rest it on the top corner of his pillow that was a few inches from his neck. Ennoshita was right, if he could swallow, and could even speak, then the air intake and exit was also open, “And around here,” If he was talking too, it meant he could breathe, and he allowed himself to inhale a small breath, making a part of the tightness in his chest finally disappear.

He opened his eyes only to see that he was still in one of the corridors of the bedrooms in the common room of Ravenclaw, with his pillow on his chest but not clinging to it, and with Ennoshita's hands still resting on his arms.

"There's air, I can breathe." Yahaba finally pronounced. He let out an exhausted breath and realized he wasn’t crying. "There's air. I can breathe." He repeated, and breathed normally as he lowered his eyes back to the ground.

"I know you were having a panic attack because Kenma used to have them," Ennoshita said, looking at him even if Yahaba avoided his gaze, “I'm sorry if I didn’t let you in the room when I realized you were having one, but Kenma doesn’t have one long ago and I thought maybe seeing you would make him have one too.” He lied, since what Yahaba last needed was to know Kenma had had a panic attack thanks to Kuroo. 

Yahaba didn’t find it strange to hear those words, because although he wasn’t close to the one who at that moment continued sleeping inside the room, because of the way he handled himself, it could be easily said Kenma had some kind of anxiety. And he felt lucky Ennoshita could have helped him for the same reason, since he didn't know what he would have done if he had been alone, until he realized that it was the first time that someone beyond Futakuchi and his parents had helped him during a panic attack.

"Please don’t think that," He heard suddenly, feeling Ennoshita read his thoughts even if a trace of fear on his face probably had given him out. “My opinion of you won’t change as it didn’t change when I learned to help Kenma to feel okay. I think you're braver for letting me help you instead of leaving or trying to hide from me." He added.

Ennoshita slowly stopped keeping his hands from resting on his arms, and Yahaba followed the movement of them until those carefully settled on his cheeks to verify that no bad reaction would be granted, his eyes finally meeting when Ennoshita erased the last trail of tears once he rubbed his thumbs under his eyes.

Ennoshita's face was the same as always. With a sleepy look, a small smile, and an expression of calm that made the expression on Yahaba's face relax. “Does anyone else know?” He asked, and Ennoshita knew the answer to his own question after Yahaba made an almost indivisible nod with his head that meant a nod. “Futakuchi?” Yahaba nodded again.

“I'm sorry,”  The Slytherin spoke again, getting Ennoshita to raise an eyebrow. “I'm such an idiot." Yahaba added again, beginning to lower his gaze, but the Ravenclaw didn’t allow him to do so after holding his face with both hands, looking for his gaze that had already turned cloudy again.

“Don't apologize and don’t say you're an idiot, only I can say it.”

A small smile appeared on Yahaba's face, so Ennoshita smiled.

“You insult me to distract me?”

"You smiled, so yes," Ennoshita answered, increasing his smile. 

“I think we're moving very fast, don’t you think? One day we are insulting each other with sarcasm and then you manage to calm me down." 

"Yeah we are moving very fast," The Ravenclaw agreed laughingly, but he only held a small smile on his face while Yahaba watched him with his still clouded gaze. “Are you okay?” He asked, “Tell me if you want me to stay quiet or talk to you.”

Yahaba giggled when he heard him, and Ennoshita laughed only because of it. But they soon fell into a comfortable silence in which the Ravenclaw withdrew his hands from the other's face when he saw that he wouldn’t cry again while Yahaba observed his pillow.

"It's my birthday," He said, “And I feel lonely. I remembered that you stopped being afraid when you approached your bed to mine the first night you slept in my house because you didn’t like the noise of the storm. So when I felt scared, I thought of coming here," He explained, saying why he had appeared at the door of his room in the first place.

Ennoshita remained serious when he heard once he heard the beginning of that sentence as well as the end, since the boy in front of him had just mentioned he felt lonely and afraid, which made him understand the reason for his panic attack, making he wonder if all the situation had to do with Kyoutani. But he knew that asking him would only get Yahaba back to the same state as before, and he supposed that the best thing he could do was to act as he always did, since besides, he had spoken the truth, and his opinion of Yahaba wouldn’t change only because he had shown him that he was as human as any other person, so he decided to bring both hands to his chest and form a pout with his lips.

“You destroy me with your words. Apparently I'm not important enough for you to remember that I know it's your birthday, since I greeted you when I saw you at the Great Hall in the morning, And now you come with me, I feel used," He said.

Yahaba noticed he had found himself so focused on Kyoutani's absence that he hadn’t even noticed the other people in his life who were present. He didn’t even remember being greeted by the Ravenclaw, and he wondered what other people or what other details he had ignored or neglected after letting his thoughts only give him a negative point of view.

"You can stay if you want to do it yet," Ennoshita added, and after Yahaba nodded without hesitation since he didn’t plan to return to his room, they both went to the Ravenclaw's room.

Once inside of it, Yahaba couldn’t notice too many differences or similarities between the bedrooms of both houses, since although the moonlight that penetrated the crystals of the only window was unique in lighting the room, continued to be dark. He supposed they had the same size because they were three just like them, or at least he thought that until he saw that two of the beds were empty while in the other one he spotted Kenma sleeping. One was because Ennoshita remained by his side, while the other could only be explained because someone was missing.

"Surprise, you aren’t the only one who betrays your house at night," Ennoshita inquired as he realized what he was thinking, for the first time being happy that one of his companions was absent because that meant that Akaashi again was with Bokuto, although Akaashi had already told them. “You can sleep in Akaashi's bed if you want," He offered, thinking that perhaps Yahaba would feel more comfortable sleeping alone than sharing space, but as soon as Yahaba only glanced at the empty bed instead of going towards it, he knew that that night he would sleep with company. 

He took Akaashi's pillow, doubting Yahaba would let go of his and because he didn’t plan to share his, while the Slytherin sat on the edge of the other free bed, although he frowned and turned abruptly when a pillow hit his back, and Ennoshita smiled totally amused as he took the sheets and got into them after leaning closer to the left side, and rolled his eyes when Yahaba chose to use Akaashi's pillow as a wall between the two after laying down and having left it in between them, making sure it wouldn’t fall.

“Are you afraid to rise up being a Ravenclaw tomorrow?” Ennoshita asked.

“No, I'm afraid to get up with the same face as you.”

Yahaba looked at him seriously as he spoke those words, and then turned to face him. Ennoshita stuck out his tongue although he couldn’t see it, and he also turned around. No other words were given, and a few minutes passed in silence in which Ennoshita chose to focus his eyes on the window instead of falling asleep. He knew he couldn’t fall asleep feeling that he was basically sleeping alone, because although he had less space and a pillow was next to his back, Yahaba remained completely stiff without making any movement.

And he was right to be worried about him, since Yahaba hadn’t taken off his pillow from his chest, and he hadn’t tried to pull him out of his own bed as they had had during the winter break, so Ennoshita decided to turn to the other one side, only to find Yahaba as still as a statue. He grimaced in disgust as he realized what he was about to do, and chose to act quickly so as not to regret what he was already thinking. He took Akaashi's pillow and then stretched his arm to throw it towards the bed of the same, approached Yahaba leaving only a few inches between his abdomen and Yahaba's back, and put one of his arms around the pillow that covered Yahaba's chest with great care in case there was a bad reaction on his part.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Ennoshita smiled amused at the same time he closed his eyes after hearing Yahaba's incredibly serious tone of voice because he knew that wasn’t a bad reaction, but Yahaba being him simply.

“I’m hugging you,” He answered very carefree.

“Why?”

“Because I know you need it.”

He smiled calmly when he didn’t hear Yahaba complaining again about the sudden contact he had made between them. He knew that he wouldn’t push him away from him because apparently he didn’t have enough desire to even launch comments against him, but he hadn't wait to see him being extremely rigid, knowing it wasn’t because he was embracing him.

"If you tell someone, I'll kill you," Yahaba said.

He didn’t know if he referred to the fact of knowing about his panic attacks or the physical contact, but anyway Ennoshita decided to enunciate the same sentence.

"Not if I kill you before," He said.

Yahaba blinked several times. He didn’t know everything about Ennoshita, and the idea of being friends with him still sent shivers down his spine, but Ennoshita was sure the Slytherin hadn’t appeared in his bedroom only to remain in the same state in which he had appeared, and no matter what it had happened, he still thought he was the only one to have the right to annoy him as much as he wanted.

Ennoshita felt a little more relieved when he thought that he kept his arm around a statue was erased when some tension was released from the body of the one caught by his arm, and he was about to fall asleep when he heard Yahaba's voice.

“Ennoshita,”

“Mhm?”

A few seconds in silence passed.

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Sleepovers are a common thing in Hufflepuff.

**Author's Note:**

> Hurrah Haikyuu! Hurrah Harry potter!


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